The Itawanabe Initiative
by Moon Knight Apprentice
Summary: Continuation of a previous story One Way Or Another; A police officer and friend to Sailor Mercury is murdered. But what's more startling is the shady past he left behind. How could a noble old man have such dirty secrets?
1. Chapter 1

The Itawanabe Initiative  
By Ryan Bodle  
Prologue

* * *

_Author's Note: Sailor Moon and associated characters are the property of Toei Animation and . I write this for entertainment purposes only. Characters such as Detective Rosa and Chiyuu are my own creations and any similarities to the fictional property are purely co-incidental. In other words, please don't use them without my permission, its not nice._

_This story is a continuation of "One Way Or Another" also authored by myself. I'll do my best to ensure that any back story is sufficiently explained in this fic but, to avoid confusion, it may be best to go back and read O.W.O.A, its relatively short anyway! Now on with the fic, thanks for reading._

* * *

Rain continued to assault the car windscreen of Detective Rosa's car, another element added to the already dire morning he was having so far. He stared through all that, blocking out the harsh weather and gazing ahead and yet he wasn't fully aware of where he was. A patrol car parked nearby suddenly jolted his concentration. Realising where he was, he hit the brakes. Instinctively, he checked his mirrors, luckily nobody was behind him. He breathed out in relief. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, hoping the action itself would help him focus better.

He had been on edge ever since leaving the precinct. He hadn't enjoyed the car ride any and he was definitely not looking forward to the next part. He parked the car and with heaving reluctance, got out of the car and into the rain outside. The cold wet roused him from his daze, so much so that rather hide from it, he looked straight up at the sky for a second, letting each drop of water run down his skin. He shook himself awake and walked across the road.

Waiting for him was a patrol officer assigned to ensure the anyone was intruding on the crime scene. Wrapped up in a raincoat, he was clearly not impressed at his current assignment. Rosa pulled out his I.D. "Detective Rosa, has anyone been inside yet?"

"Except for the poor rookie who came looking for him? Nobody detective," the officer answered. "A coroner and forensics are on their way."

"Alright, I'm going to have a look myself before they get in there. I'll look after the scene for five minutes, why don't you go get a cup of coffee or something?"

The uniformed man broke a small smile. "Yes sir, thank you."

Rosa continued into the small house alone. Inside, he shook off the rain and left his raincoat on a nearby hook. The front door had been left open. Immediately, Rosa took a notebook and pencil out and scribbled down a reminder quickly. He looked inside the house.

It was too dark to see very well but from what he could see, he made out a small residence that was well kept. Considering who lived here, Rosa was mildly surprised by the condition of the place. He flipped a light switch. Nothing happened. No doubt forensics had ordered the power to be killed so as not to damage any of the possible evidence.

"Alright, we'll do this the hard way," he conceded and pulled a pair of leather gloves from his coat pocket. He shook them dry and put them on. From another pocket, he pulled out a pen torch and a Dictaphone with wireless microphone. He attached the microphone to his shirt collar and replaced the recorder back in his pocket. "Ok, date is April 12th, time is 11.18am" he began whilst checking his watch. "The case number is 412-88458-99. Assignment details state that the deceased was discovered by patrol after being sent to the address. The deceased failed to appear for work this morning."

Rosa flicked the light around the home. "The address 1408 Nakatomi Rise has been left in a well kept condition. No signs of a struggle support the suicide that has been reported in this case." He shined the thin beam of light towards the back of the house. There a body lay on the floor. Patrol from before had cut it down and laid it down for forensics.

Rosa swallowed a lump in throat. He had seen bodies before. His first experience as a child hadn't been as terrifying as he might have imagined. This one, however, came quite bitterly. He took a deep breath and approached it. Its face was turned away. Something that came a small respite for Rosa. He continued talking to his Dictaphone. "Bruising around the neck suggests the victim had been hanging for several hours before he was discovered."

Rosa made another note in his book. His old partner had insisted Rosa make notes whilst investigating. Rosa always recorded his investigations instead of the using the old fashioned notebook. Koshiro said it was always better to write things down. Reading notes when going back on an investigation allowed you to see things you had forgotten before, read between the lines even. You could always draw diagrams of certain specifics. The added benefit of making notes was you could write discreetly. Recording was out in the open. Rosa couldn't argue but found making notes a slow process, thus he used both.

Rosa sucked in his breath. He stepped over and looked at the face of the body. A chill suddenly caught him all over. He froze for a moment. There and now, he couldn't avoid the fact of it. There was his sensei. His face was peaceful, at rest. His eyes were closed, accepting his fate without remorse. Rosa didn't need to fight the urge to vomit. He felt a pulling sensation in his stomach but it wasn't nausea. He fought back the sudden need to weep. Instead he breathed deeply for just a second.

"The body is positively identified as Detective Lieutenant Koshiro Hiro."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Itawanabe Initiative**

**Chapter One**

**By Ryan Bodle**

Rosa pulled back his new chair and hesitated before sitting down. The captain had given him his own office to run his investigations from on the Koshiro case. The problem was, he now occupied Koshiro's office. The half-Hispanic now fully fledged Inspector looked across his new desk. Random papers and files littered it reminding him that his previous superior still lingered in spirit. This place would need to be cleaned up if Rosa was to ever work in this environment.

Just not now. Koshiro had only waved him good night barely fourteen hours ago. Instead Rosa, swept litter away enough so he could place his laptop down. Whilst he waited for it to start up, he got up to grab a cup of coffee.

Moments later, he returned with a mug, steam rising from it. He looked at the drink trying desperately to pass itself off as coffee and sighed. At least he added enough sugar to mask its lack of quality. He sat back down and opened a new text document and began completing the templates he had prepared for all his investigations. Barely halfway through his top sheet, a knock at the door came.

Ogawa Haruo, the force media relations officer stepped in with a notepad. "Taiki, I need your official response regarding the investigation on Koshiro's death."

Rosa raised his eyebrows. "They found out already?"

"Well, you stick a couple of cop cars outside a house and people start asking questions. As soon as they see the place being cordoned off with tape, it doesn't take long for reporters to put the pieces together. I always said journalists make the best investigators."

"Shouldn't you be making the response?"

"I already have. Just thought you might want any input to questions that might come up, that and I thought you'd like to see the force's official stance on the matter seeing as someone will figure out you're on the case." Ogawa handed over his notepad. Rosa took it and read over the neatly written statement.

"I'm OK with that," he handed the notepad back and went back to work on his laptop.

"Good, do you mind if I ask you a couple of things?" Rosa shrugged and carried on tapping away at the keyboard. "Have you made any progress in the case yet?"

"I've been investigating for not even two hours." Rosa replied bluntly.

"OK, so you are following up several leads," Ogawa scrawled down. "And, there might be some questions about why so little resources have been assigned to this case, any comments you want to chip in?"

"That's not my decision!" Rosa fumed. "Go ask the captain, I'm busy here."

"Hey don't get mad at me, I'm just asking if you some input," Ogawa said backing out of the office. "I'll leave you to it."

"You do that," Rosa replied and focused on his screen again. Ogawa shut the door behind him, Rosa walked up to it and locked it. No more interruptions. He sat back down and reached down into his carry case. H retrieved a brown envelope containing the freshly developed scene photographs and his dictaphone. He played back his notes whilst going over the photos.

==================================  
Test Site One, Haiten-Mori Technologies, Tokyo Outskirts  
==================================

"Ah man, this is too easy," Ken sighed. Noises blared from the small T.V hooked up to the playstation. "Chiyu-kun, come play Tekken with me."

"You always beat me," Chiyu replied.

"Yeah, but you're more of a challenge than the weak game this AI offers," Ken said back. Chiyu smirked a little at that remark.

"I'm busy," he replied bluntly. He had no time for games and couldn't understand Ken's compulsion with them. A distraction, nothing more. Chiyu didn't have time for distractions. He sat at his terminal tapping away at the keyboard.

Chiyu and Ken worked security detail for Kairaishi Technological Industries. Most often they manned the site when nothing was happening. When something of value was worth guarding there, the responsibility fell to another team. Another team who were older, better trained and combat experienced. It suited Chiyu just fine, it was a constant graveyard shift where he could earn money whilst study. Walk the perimeter once every hour and make sure no kids had sneaked in. Even then, the place was well enough designed so even that task was made difficult. Only someone within the company or a highly skilled thief could get in and that wasn't going to happen whilst a college student and a bum was in charge.

Chiyu allowed a gaze at his colleague. The young man continued to baffle and annoy Chiyu with every breath. Kenji was almost as smart as Chiyu was and yet he continued to let his mind and talent go to waste on those stupid games. He had no ambition and no drive. It was a waste. Chiyu, on the other hand was striving to be all he could. A proclaimed genius by his superiors since he started school. He strived to reach the expectations put on him at such a young age. Usually he would have been neck deep in his books today but something about the handover from the night shift bothered him. A problem with the security cameras system meant some CCTV coverage from two days ago was completely lost. The team that was assigned to that shift had already declared nothing unusual had happened that day and the server technicians had already determined no data was recoverable from that period. The fault was due to a bad sector on one of the hard drives. The drive was replaced and normal services in the system were resumed.

Chiyu was by nature quick to not believe word of mouth and had to check things for himself. Despite the Operating System for the company's network being developed completely in-house, the servers themselves still employed a RAID setup. That meant, if one hard drive failed, the data should still be there. Maybe the techs were just dumbing it down for security. Still when Chiyu went to verify the logs for himself, data still existed in the swap file, he managed to recover some of it. Two seconds of video. Those two seconds, however, were crucial. A blur, but clearly a human form. Some twenty minutes later, he had cleared the image up. It was still a mess to look at, but enough to grab his interest.

The one piece of image he managed to clear up was the waist portion of someone's midsection. And that someone was wearing a brightly coloured fuku.

Since that moment, Chiyu's interest changed from studying to restoring as much of this video data as possible. He had been at it for nearly two hours. Under normal circumstances, he would have already gotten further but he couldn't work as fast as usual. He was being careful. One conclusion he had already come to was that the technicians had lied. Chiyu had collected more from his local workstation, whatever the footage, it was being reviewed live from the terminal he was logged onto. Data recovery was possible. That meant the data was deleted and someone had purged it not counting on temporary cached data. This kind of action could have only come from high up in the company. The board wanted to cover something up.

Chiyu's conscience plagued him as he thought about that again. Usually this kind of cover up came about when they wanted a secret to stay a secret. A confidential test, a test gone catastrophically wrong. Chiyu had come across a number of excuses before and accepted them. He knew all too well ignorance was as best a security you could ask for in this line of work. Especially for someone like him. All he needed was a steady pay cheque and a good reference when he left college. Still after recovering that video clip by doing a simple data fragment recovery, something made him work to uncover all he could about this incident.

His initial conclusion was to rely on a myth. The legendary Sailor Senshi. After seeing that fuku, he couldn't come to anything else. He saw news reports and read the papers and had never really cared for that kind of news. Even in the devastation of crippling attacks to Tokyo. He had not cared for that kind of depressing news. But since he had, for the first time, seen evidence of their existence, something burned inside him for answers.

Chiyu now knew that the company covered this up. If he was to satisfy his curiosity, he would have to do this without leading it back to himself. He created himself an anonymous User ID and then forged time logs on his terminal so that any action his new ID had carried out, it would happen when he wasn't on shift. Chiyu wasn't a hacker, but he knew how to fool a system admin when he was inside a system. Perhaps the board would cover up his intrusion as well. None the less, due to server time synchronisation, getting any remaining data fragments was problematic. The servers would deny any connection he made because the time logs on his terminal didn't match up correctly.

He was resorting to parity checks on the drives themselves. Restoring lost data by ones and zeros until he got something back frame by frame. At this rate, the work would take him days. He was somewhat thankful his employers were unaware of his limited but well above average knowledge of the custom operating system his company had deployed.

'This would go so much faster with help,' Chiyu thought. He eyed his colleague again. Kenji was once more to involved in his computer games. Since Chiyu's refusal to join in, Ken had moved onto a driving game unknown to Chiyu. Just between the two of them, Ken had displayed a wondrous ability to circumnavigate security in their custom operating system. Ken had immediately down played the single act stating it was "blind luck". Chiyu still suspected he knew more than he was letting on.

Chiyu asked Ken once why he didn't apply for a systems admin job in the Systems Infrastructure department. Ken-chan said he didn't have the qualifications necessary and when Chiyu convinced him he would pass the technological test, Ken dismissed the suggestion stating 'he didn't want a job where he didn't have time off.' Chiyu didn't probe the man further, he merely got more annoyed with Ken's lack of ambition.

Still, he couldn't ask his partner for help. Chiyu didn't want to include anyone. He stared at the screen and waited for the next sector of hard drive three to finish its check. More data was coming down.

===============  
Mizuno Residence, Tokyo  
===============

Mizuno Ami hit the save button on her laptop and leaned back in her chair. She felt unsure about how complete her conclusion was, but for now that would do. She still had two days to proof read her report and hand it in. It was getting late and with homework done for the day, she thought about relaxing. She eyed the book she was reading and thought about settling in for the night and reading in bed.

She closed down the document and was about to close her iMac when a news feed popped up. Reading the headline, she immediately clicked to see the full story. 'Tokyo Detective Found Dead.'

The first paragraph made her dread tighten around her stomach. _Detective Koshiro was found dead in his home today. The details of his death remain unconfirmed and Tokyo Police have released little information about the cause of death and have issued a statement stating a full investigation is under way. The lack of information being relayed to the public has been suggesting that Detective Koshiro may have been the victim of murder..._

She stopped reading. Hiro was dead? That couldn't be.

Her communicator suddenly beeped, shattering the silence in her room. She flipped it open. Usagi's face was on it. "Ami, I just heard on the news, are you OK?"

"I only just found out too," Ami replied in shock. "I-." Her voice failed her.

"He was your friend, right? Is there anything I can do?" Usagi asked.

Ami blinked back a tear forming in her eye. "No, its OK," she answered. "I just need to rest."

"I'll see you tomorrow, we can walk to school together," Usagi said.

Ami smiled weakly. "Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow Usagi." She closed her communicator, spun around and flopped onto her bed. Breathing hard into her duvet. They had barely spoken a few days ago. She stretched her arms under her pillow and felt her henshin wand there. She gripped it. There was no official statement on the cause of death. The old man never seemed to be the kind to commit suicide. He was murdered? She couldn't quite understand what for. As a man of the law, he must have acquired some enemies but he seemed so kind hearted, she couldn't imagine him incurring this much hatred from another human being.

She withdrew her hand from under the pillow and sat up. Just one quick look around the crime scene. Maybe she could get some answers. A little closure.

She opened her bedroom window and dropped to the floor below with practised ease. She ran along the empty back alleys of her neighbourhood until she found a completely concealed spot and raised her henshin wand.

Moments later, Sailor Mercury was hurdling the rooftops of Tokyo. She had only once visited Hiro at his home but had never seen the inside. In just a couple of minutes, she reached the block his house was on. The house was taped off and she assumed the doors were locked. After surveying the area and sure nobody was around, she descended to the ground and began scouting for somewhere to get inside.

The ground floor was completely locked up. All windows and doors prevented entry. It was no good getting inside if it meant leaving a trace that someone had been here. She began looking at the windows on the top floor. Luck must have been on her side, on of the window latches hadn't been locked. She jumped the distance and clung to the window sill, then with one hand she pushed the window open and climbed in without a sound but a dull thud as she landed inside.

Immediately, she activated her computer visor. She enabled night vision and panned around the room she entered. Clearly a bedroom, she now knew why Koshiro insisted they meet anywhere but his house. His bedroom looked worse than Usagi's. Either that or someone had been turning his closets inside out for something. She began idly flicking through items of clothing that were still hanging up and found nothing. Next she tried the bedside cabinet.

It was cluttered with personal effects and a snub-nosed revolver, not loaded but not much else. Hiro obviously didn't keep anything but his own keep sakes by him. Perhaps he had a study he worked from downstairs. Something that gave a clue to what he was investigating recently or something that linked a motive to murder. She moved out of the bedroom and onto the hallway. A wooden frame protected anyone from falling into the stair well. She looked at the frame, there was an indent on there. A single, thin crease in the wooden beam. Her computer began working analysis of it. The soft wood had been crushed by something. It worked all the way round.

Rope? Hiro had hung himself? Then it was suicide. She couldn't accept it. "Why Hiro?" she whispered to herself. She found herself walking down the stairs, watching the point where, presumably, a rope had been tied on the bannister and someone had hung from.

Her trance had been broken when something clamped onto her wrist. She looked down and registered a metal band tightly clipped to her and then a chain and another similar band locked around someone else. She looked at her assailant and raised her other fist to defend herself. Then she stopped as she saw the face of Detective Rosa glare back at her. "Breaking and entering, tampering with a crime scene," he listed. "You're in a lot of trouble Sailor...Moon is it?"

"Let go," Sailor Mercury yelped and yanked her arm back. Her abnormal strength pulled Rosa off balance, he gripped a nearby doorway and steadied himself.

"Forget it," he answered. "This place is off limits to civilians and that includes you Sailor Moon."

"I'm not Sailor Moon," Mercury responded tugging at the hand cuffs. Rosa didn't budge this time. He pulled back and took Mercury off balance herself. She fell to her knees and gave up struggling.

"Then who are you?" He asked a little more gently.

"Mercury," she replied looking down at the floor. "My name is Sailor Mercury."

"Well Sailor Mercury, I need you to answer some questions in regards to the death of Koshiro Hiro," Rosa said reaching into his pocket. "Now, if I unlock these, think you can not run away?"

Mercury looked up at the young detective. His face was neutral. A vigilante, she may be but a fugitive, she was not. "No, I won't run," she answered solemnly and stood up.

Rosa removed the cuffs from both his own and Sailor Mercury's wrist. "Lets sit down," he motioned to a couch in another room. She went in first and sat down. He sat next to her and turned his nose up at an odour. He moved an ashtray away from him. "I never could stand for the old man smoking." He stated. He removed a notepad and pencil. "OK, I want you to know you're not considered a suspect." Sailor Mercury shot a hurt and surprised look at the police officer. "Hey, procedure and etiquette dictates full disclosure in my intentions. You are in no way considered a link to Detective Koshiro's death."

"I understand," Sailor Mercury replied.

"And you're not in any trouble for this little stunt you pulled tonight," Rosa added.

"Thank you," Mercury added, relieved.

"You are, however," Rosa added. "A material witness leading up to the events of earlier today. I need to know everything about your contact with Koshiro. Lets start with the last time you spoke."

"It was a day after you two took JC into custody," Mercury replied. "I asked Detective Koshiro what would happen to him, he assured me he would be taken care of and seen to that he isn't a problem any more."

"That was about a week ago, right?" Rosa asked, mercury nodded. "And you haven't had any communication since?"

"We're not collaborators, Detective," Mercury explained. "We just happened to help each other out once and found the arrangement a convenient and mutually beneficial one. We don't have many affairs that overlap."

"I truly hope so," Rosa commented and documented the dark look he got in return. "Regardless of how helpless you're not. Adolescent girls running around fighting crime doesn't sit well with me." He began flicking his pencil against his notepad. "Well, I don't see how any of your recent contact with the old man can be linked to his death."

"Detective?" Mercury asked. "Was he murdered, or did he commit suicide?"

"That's restricted information."

"You can't seriously-."

"Oh yes I can Miss Mercury," the police officer interrupted. "I don't know what kind of relationship you had with Koshiro, but I am not obliged to disclose anything about this case with you."

"But-"

"But nothing. What do you hope to get out of knowing all the answers? Maybe, find someone to blame and get revenge?"

"Of course not!" Sailor Mercury stood, her fists clenched.

"Then what?"

"I just want to know what happened," she answered. Her shoulders sagged. "I'm certain Mr Koshiro wouldn't take his own life. But then, that means somebody wanted him dead. I guess I wanted to see that kind of person face justice, that's all." She sat back down and put her hands in her lap and looked away from her interrogator. "He always had a kind smile. And I know everyone in the neighbourhood admired him."

"Yeah, he had a funny way of getting your respect," Rosa added. "I'm in charge now, and I'm not the same as Koshiro. I have to leave you out of this, I'm sorry."

"No, I understand," Mercury answered. "Please let me know if there's anything I can do to assist."

"Right, I'll get myself a bat signal," Rosa joked. "Come to think of it, how did you two maintain contact? Surely it wasn't always safe to call the office?"

"Mr Koshiro had an answering service set up, we left messages for each other."

Rosa pulled out his cell and put it on loud speaker mode. "Dial the number," he instructed. Mercury took the phone and entered a number, after delay she keyed in a PIN and handed the phone back. A robotic voice droned a greeting and then added there was a message still on the system.

"That's dated yesterday!" Sailor Mercury gasped.

"Not you?" Rosa asked. Mercury shook her head. He retrieved his dictaphone and hit record.

Like a ghost making its presence known, the voice of Koshiro Hiro spoke once more from the voicemail recording. Sailor Mercury tensed and her heart leapt a little.

"Hello Miss. I fear I have little time left now. I tried to make the world a little easier to live for people like me, but I think I over stepped my boundaries. I would like you to have something. It will be with you shortly. Fair well Miss. Oh and please listen to my new partner, he's a smart young man, who probably knows better than I do."

The phone went dead. Mercury replayed the words in her head. He had little time left. He knew he was going to die but he said, he feared. He was murdered. Right?


	3. Chapter 3

**The Itawanabe Initiative**

**Chapter Two**

**By Ryan Bodle**

Rosa pressed the hang up button on his cell phone and put it back in his pocket. There was a deathly silence in the house now. He spoke, penetrating the still air. "I hope you intend to take his advice."

Sailor Mercury's heart jumped a little but she didn't show it and looked at the detective next to her. "About listening to me?" Rosa asked.

"Oh," she replied quietly. "I guess there's nothing left for it." She added defeated. "Do you have leads like the reporters say?"

"I can't tell you that," Rosa replied stalwartly.

"I think I could help you," Sailor Mercury answered back quickly. "I believe my computer could act much faster in detecting and analysing any forensic evidence."

"I don't think so," Rosa crossed his arms and widened his stance.

"What could take your laboratories weeks could take me a few minutes," Sailor Mercury hastened to add as she flicked the visor on her computer. "Please let me do something."

"You did enough with the message," the detective responded. Sailor Mercury didn't move. Rosa broke eye contact and sighed loudly. "If you get anything interesting, let me know. But I don't want to see you after tonight, understood?"

The senshi of water smiled in gratitude and turned away from him.

"This computer of yours sounds very hi-tech, did you make it yourself?" Rosa asked as he watched her pan around the room.

"I developed its later platforms but the original design isn't mine," she answered absently as her visor went through the full spectrum of colours, looking for anything unusual the human eye couldn't detect. She slowly walked into the hallway.

"So, when was it designed?"

"A million years ago."

Rosa's jaw dropped slightly. He blinked. "A million?"

Sailor Mercury faced him only just realising how she had answered the question, the distraction of her task letting her tongue slip. "Its probably best you forget that, I don't think I have permission to tell you things like this."

"You don't have permission?"

Sailor Mercury smiled, getting some small satisfaction from teasing Rosa. "Yes, I'm afraid I answer to a higher authority than yourself Detective Rosa."

Rosa gathered himself again. "So, you are above the law, then?"

"Not at all," Mercury continued her scans. "I fight for love and justice, the senshi always have." She shook her head. "Its a very long story, Detective. A lot of it is hard to accept unless you were apart of it or have the imagination of our younger fans. Its probably best I don't include you in my world."

Rosa leant against a doorway. "Sailor Mercury, are you toying with me?"

Sailor Mercury was now focusing up the stairway where Detective Koshiro had been found hanging. A speck had caught her attention. Under ultraviolet, something was showing up brighter than the wood and varnished finish.

"Do you believe the stories about what we're capable of, Detective?" She asked as she ascended, tapping at the keypad, getting all sorts of information.

"I know first hand what you're capable of," Rosa answered rapidly. "Its knowing what you can do and hearing you think you're above answering to the police that worries me. Doesn't sound like a champion of justice to me."

Sailor Mercury paused and glanced back at Rosa. "I never meant it like that," she responded meekly. "Our responsibility isn't to any one law, but to people everywhere. I mean justice as a principle, not a single country's or a system's interpretation of it."

"Interesting," Rosa mused as he followed Mercury upstairs. "So do you have any sense of national loyalty?"

She stopped but didn't look at him. "How do you mean?"

"Do you consider yourself Japanese? Would you serve this country over another?"

"I hadn't thought about that," Mercury replied as she retracted her visor and look away as if to consider it. "I have the benefit of so many experiences and you could say it has changed my perspective. I'm grateful for the life I have because of Japan, but my priorities extend to the entire human race."

She considered that for a second and minutely nodded to herself. Coming to the conclusion there and then, she sounded content with that. A millennia ago, she had been the protector of the Silver Millennium. A multi-national kingdom of man experiencing its peak until the ultimate calamity almost annihilated everything she knew. Moments before the human race was utterly destroyed, Queen Serenity used the power of her Ginzuishou to send everyone into the future on Earth. It was those people that were the foundations of the new human empire she knew now. It was to them and the legacy of the Silver Millennium, that she owed her true loyalty.

It was suddenly a sad thing she couldn't explain that to Rosa. The likelihood of him accepting the truth about the past and even what she knew about the future, was slight at best. Only having been reminded of her past and through her senshi adventures could she come to accept everything. Not wanting that to make her feel alone, she re-activated her visor and began scanning again.

"There's blood here," she announced. And pointed to a spot next to where the rope had been tied. Bruising in the wood had been permanently left as a reminder of what had happened lass than twenty-four hours ago. "Type AB."

"AB?" Rosa asked. "Koshiro was O negative."

"Then it must be someone else's," Mercury concluded. "I can run a match of this sample through any DNA database you might have and come up with a match in minutes."

"And then what?" Rosa asked. "We track them down and what?"

"Arrest them," she answered simply.

"You don't get it," Rosa said as he switched a light on so he could examine the dried blood. "Prosecutors will ask how I got the results so quickly. And then when I tell them the truth, the case will be dismissed and our guy will walk away free."

He removed a small pack and opened it to reveal a miniature forensics kit. A couple of test tubes, some tweezers, and other small tools. He removed a small wood chisel and lined it against the wooden railing over looking the stairwell.

"You need to let me take it from here and do my job," He tapped into the wood and then deftly removed a small layer containing the dried blood and deposited it in a glass tube. He faced Sailor Mercury, she looked towards the floor, not wanting to accept this was the end of her involvement, but not quite having the courage to tell a police officer that. "Your help is appreciated, but you need to let due process take over. Otherwise, justice will not win here."

She looked up at him at that. Nodded. "Thank you, Detective."

"OK, and as for the mutual working relationship you two had, I won't be continuing it. I would appreciate it just as much if you stayed out of police matters from here on in," he continued sternly. "Understood?"

Mercury nodded again.

"OK, now go home. I bet you have school in the morning," Rosa turned the light back off and plunged the house into darkness. He walked downstairs and left her there, not waiting to see if she had left.

Sailor Mercury was left in the still house with a very peculiar feeling. She barely ever got involved in police affairs. Some of the other senshi couldn't help getting sucked into sticking up for the defenceless. Ami was prone to this of course, but the likes of Minako had been known to patrol the city when her timetable allowed. Ami wasn't so easily sucked in. Having Koshiro as a contact, however, always helped determining the cases when it was best to get involved and prevent a loss of life. Good or bad. But it was more than that now. She had been speaking to Koshiro, and even though she had only actually met him a handful of times, there was more to the relationship they maintained.

She had known, for sometime, the late detective had come to consider himself a protector for her and her fellow senshi. It was strange given their superhuman disposition. Perhaps he felt he was protecting them from the ugly side of human nature. Unfortunately, Ami had seen that side herself. Maybe not the worse, but her alternate life had led her some places she wished it hadn't.

And now a friend, not a contact, but a dear, old friend had been killed and she had no idea why. It didn't make sense. She had watched over him from time to time, when he hadn't noticed. He was so well liked by everyone he came into contact with. He had such a kind smile. It was a smile that said he was pretending everything was OK. But it was still a smile that encouraged a pure and genuine smile in return.

Rosa said quite plainly, that he would capture his killer and she was to go home and wait for news on the TV. She had saved the planet more times than she could count and now she was being excluded in something so vital. It was hard to accept. Her fists balled.

"Are you above the law?"

Rosa's words echoed in her head.

'No, we're not,' she answered mentally. 'We stand for justice.'

She tried telling herself that the best chance for justice was to let Rosa find the killer. She would reluctantly listen to the voice of reason in her head. The most difficult thing to accept was that voice of reason wasn't hers. It was Rosa's. She left the house the same way she had come in, through the bedroom window.

Sailor Mercury used the rooftops of Tokyo city to get home. The air was warm and promised to bring a hot summer soon. In the night, the city radiated its usual glow. The city never slept. Immense light from the business and metropolitan districts stopped the rest of the city from submitting to the dark. Despite the temperature, the sea gust provided gentle and cooling breaths.

Sailor Mercury drifted across the city. She made no detours getting home. When she finally ended up back in her bedroom, she hadn't thought about being careful not to alert her mother to eloping. Not that it mattered. By now, instinct was more than enough to allow Ami to come and go without making a sound. Instinct also de-henshined her from Sailor Mercury to Mizuno Ami. The subconscious thought returned her to the normal schoolgirl and suddenly an unknown fatigue overwhelmed her.

She fell on her bed, still fully clothed but unable to care about that. She was so tired but her eyes stung when she closed them. They were bone dry. Minutes began to pass until she was no longer aware of time passing and yet she was still awake. Why couldn't she sleep?

She reached out and grabbed the pillow that was underneath her head and rolled over so her face was buried in it. Then she she hugged it to herself as if all of a sudden, she needed to hold onto something, lest she be washed away by something she couldn't explain.

Then finally, her stinging and dry eyes began to well up with tears. Her throat quivered. She began to cry into her pillow, to herself. A soft whimper, she mourned Detective Koshiro Hiro. And she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Rosa drove straight back to the precinct. The night's encounter had left his mind reeling from too many questions for his mind to settle on sleep. Most infuriatingly, Koshiro had left that message. Left it with the senshi. Rosa now knew Koshiro well enough to hear the old man saying "work with them" from beyond the grave.

Even now, he was trying to teach. Rosa gave a mixed snort of laughter and contempt. It was a part of Koshiro he loved and hated at the same time. The old man always knew better. Rosa drove the car into the parking lot, they tyres gave a weak screech to indicate he was probably going a little too fast.

He parked just as quickly and got out, a small amount of annoyance putting speed in his movement. He used a side entrance and took the most direct route to the forensic building. It was across a courtyard beyond the foyer of the reception area. An old mansion on the outside, the interior was a stark contrast. Pure white surfaces all around, inside had been fully renovated and outfitted for the today's demands of scientific policing. A single technician sat behind the front counter. He poured over paper notes and didn't notice the Detective's entrance. Probably a junior studying for a biology doctorate.

"Hey, need a blood sample analysis," Rosa announced his presence as he approached and placed a vial on the front counter.

"Detective!" The technician jumped. "I'll, uh, get started on it right away."

"You can do that?"

"Sure, it'll take some time though. You might want to get some sleep."

Rosa took out his notebook and scribbled a number on it before tearing out a page. "Give me a call when you have something."

"The database is pretty new but it'll take a while to compile the sample. There's no guarantee we'll have a match," the technician explained. "DNA recording is really new and we can only keep a select few of people on record for a specified time, sometimes days or hours before we have to delete the records for legal reasons."

"You'll get a match," Rosa assured him and walked off.

"OK," the technician put his paper aside and began his work.

Rosa walked back to his office. He couldn't sleep just yet. Too much was on his mind. Work still to be done. He sat down in his chair and fired his laptop up and removed his dictaphone. He ejected the current tape and loaded a new one, then labelled the used one. Upon the mess, a freshly delivered folder sat, he grabbed it with one hand as he pressed record on the dictaphone and began speaking.

"A blood sample was retrieved from the home of the deceased. The coroner's report stated no signs of cuts or bleeding from the deceased although bruising was found around the throat and neck so I've come to the conclusion that it did not belong to Koshiro. I'll need to wait until forensic investigation is complete before I can be certain, but until then and merely as a theory, I am treating this death as suspicious," he paused and fingered through pages in the file he had retrieved. "For this reason, I am now compiling a report on the family and known associates of the deceased. Next of kin have already been notified, one son from a previous marriage, Koshiro was divorced for several years. Never remarried. The son, a 28 year old Koshiro Yamato will be at headquarters tomorrow to collect the body and arrange an appropriate funeral. Like his father, he was an only child."

Rosa paused and rubbed his stinging eyes. Perhaps he was tired. Yamato was his age, is that why Koshiro took him under his wing? "Known associates..." he began. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Mizuno Ami woke up as she always did. It seemed that the past day's events could not break her routine. No, the routine was comforting. It kept her grounded. Her alarm sounded at 6AM, she rose immediately and turned her alarm off, never the other way round. She went to the bathroom and showered, brushed her teeth, dried her hair, hung the wet towels to dry, put her night gown back on, returned to her bedroom, turned on her iMac, got dressed, brushed her hair, sat at her screen, reviewed her schedule and ensured her homework for today was ready to hand in, as always. Then, as always, she made a second copy on a USB flash drive.

Then she would check her news feeds for anything interesting before breakfast. But not today. She didn't want to know what the news had to say today. She was afraid someone in the news would want to report on what happened to a dear and beloved detective yesterday and she didn't have the stomach to hear about it. Today she would break the routine here. She turned the PC off.

Returning to her schedule, she compiled her text books, her notes and her homework and stacked them neatly in her satchel and then went downstairs. Her mother was already in the kitchen, as always. Some breakfast already laid out and prepared. Ami sat down at the table silently and took a portion of grapefruit.

"Good morning Ami," her mother said still occupied on organising her work folder. She spared a few moments to get eye contact with her daughter and smile. Ami smiled back.

"Good morning, Okasan," Ami braved a smile in return.

"Do you have have any classes after school today? I hope to finish on time for once, I can make dinner."

Ami's smile became more genuine, that sounded just what she needed right now. Time with her family. "Not today, computer classes had to be suspended as our teacher is due to give birth soon."

"Oh that's nice," Dr Mizuno mentioned as she fixed a name badge to the lapel of her suit. "They didn't ask you to take over for her?" She asked with a smirk.

"We have covered most of our text book. Until Miss Shou gets out of hospital, we have study sessions," Ami explained noting the glint in her mother's eye. Okasan took pride in seeing Ami run classes for students her age, sometimes older. She rarely made a point of it though. That was at Ami's request.

"Then I'll see you after school," her mother answered. She graced over to the kitchen table where her daughter sat and kissed her quickly on the head and left.

Ami finished her breakfast quickly and washed her dish before putting it aside to dry. With nothing left to do, she left for school and locked the house behind her. A brief flicker of doubt filled her, telling her that going to school with the grief she felt was too much. She should just stay home. It flickered and died very quickly. Something else to concentrate on would be a good thing for now. She left for school.

* * *

Matsui Chiyu slumped back in the chair propped in front of his computer. He was back at Tokyo Metropolitan College and pouring through the library archives for news reports on Sailor Moon and senshi. A night's worth of Internet searching had yielded some scant scraps of information. The web was flooded with fanaticism, but genuine information that could be relied on, or even debated was a treasure. With not much to go on, Chiyuu went to the press to fond what he could.

Sailor Moon first appeared just a little over three years ago. At least it seemed to be the first documented appearance of the heroine. A mere column in the middle pages. A strangely dressed vigilante teenage girl preventing a robbery at a jewellery. But then she kept re-appearing and soon Sailor Moon was on the front pages. Then there were more Sailor Suited Guardians. Then there was the idolism. Then there came the cynics. Entire editorial columns began tearing apart the defenders of love and justice. But they didn't stop. They remained forever allusive to the law and photographers. It was virtually impossible for photographers to get a clear picture of the girls. Front pages were eventually plagued with offers of money for shots of Sailor Moon and her senshi. It seemed obvious that none were forthcoming. And then, all of a sudden, interest seemed to die. Sailor Moon occupied the media no more.

Chiyu could walk away with pages of articles on Sailor Moon, but yet very little fact. He scribbled more dates and locations into his notebook and logged off. He would need to look again after classes.

* * *

For Mizuno Ami, school started exactly as she had predicted. Exactly as she had feared. Tsukino Usagi and Kino Makoto stood at the gates keeping tentative watch for her approach. Sometimes you just wish you didn't have to face friends. Sometimes it was just necessary to come to terms with grief before you needed their support and until then, facing anyone was just too hard. Could she not just go to school, have classes and go home?

Ami knew that answer too well as she approached the two. Usagi had such a sad face. Why?

"Hi Ami," the blonde ditz said hopefully.

"Good Morning Usagi," Ami managed. "Hello Makato."

"Ami-chan," Makoto nodded with a small, soft smile.

"How are you holding up?" Usagi asked, she had a light grip on Ami's sleeve.

Ami hesitated and avoided eye contact at first. "I don't know yet. I'm OK for now."

Usagi nodded. "Whenever you need us, we're here," Usagi responded. "You don't have to be alone." Immediately she took Ami into a tight hug that surprised the azure-haired girl that it made her gasp. But then, she clung back to her friend. After a few moments, Makoto had covered both them with her arms.

Thank God for friends.

* * *

A sharp rattle at the door snapped Rosa from his slumber. He had fallen asleep at the office doing his report. An officer popped his head around the door. "You have this from forensics," he said before laying a brown envelope on the table and disappearing. Rosa checked his watch. Nine-forty. When did he fall asleep? It was gone two when he last checked.

He grabbed the envelope and checked the contents inside. As he predicted, the sample came back with a hit. Masahashi Uryu. Rosa got immediately and took the envelope and left the office, making a bee line for the intel office. Masahashi was on the new DNA database that was being trialled in Tokyo. That meant he had been arrested for something and within the last 6 months. That meant he'd have a record and Rosa had a funny feeling he knew what kind.

He got to records and approached the sergeant at the main desk. "Hey, need to do a nominal search on this guy."

"Terminal over there," the sergeant grunted a reply in disinterest. He half pointed over his should to three workstations. Only one was in use. Rosa sat himself down and began a search. A matter of seconds later there were a number of hits. Number three in the list Masahashi, U. Rosa opened the file. Bingo. His suspect had been arrested several times for possession. Once for intent to supply. He did six months in jail for that. The last arrest was six weeks ago. Rosa poured through his file.

Masahashi used to be a doctor. Right to practice medicine removed after developing a morphine addiction. Divorced. Looks like the former doctor spent his mass fortune on whatever addictive substance he could find and was now homeless on the streets of Tokyo.

'Just great,' Rosa thought. He printed off the details of the file. This was Koshiro's supposed assassin. A junkie. It didn't surprise Rosa to see it was Koshiro that made the arrest that led on Masahashi that led to his morphine addiction being made public. There was the motive.

So now Rosa had to track down this guy. Fortunately, every arrest made on Masahashi since then was made in or around the same city block. At least it would get him out of the precinct. Away from the Captain. The car ride across town was unusually calm. Rosa headed for a district that was mostly under construction or demolition, cars thinned out pretty quickly. And then, after a while, he began to see why Masahashi was often found here. Not all of them, but nearly every other building seemed to be vacated or condemned but they couldn't be knocked down because neighbouring buildings were still populated. And so the homeless came seeking shelter. Some of them dared to stray onto the streets in the day. Rosa pulled his car over and parked up in the main street.

He approached an old man in clothes falling off him as he shuffled along the pavement. "Hey, do you know where I can find this guy?"

The old man turned slowly and took several seconds to register Rosa. Then the question and finally the photograph that Rosa was holding. He managed a single syllable in response. "Errrr" Rosa contained himself and waited for the old man to try talking.

"His name's Uryuu Masahashi, and he lives around here. He used to be a Doctor."

"Oh sure the Doctor," the old man finally responded. "Sure don't look that pretty any more." He wheezed a laugh. Then he pointed to one of the condemned buildings. "He can be found up in there, second floor I think."

"Thanks," Rosa headed towards the building. He stopped before entering. It looked like it could come down any moment. Then with a deep breath, he crossed the threshold. He climbed the stairs slowly and with great care. It looked as though he'd easily put his foot through the wood if he wasn't careful. He wasn't much looking forward to finding Masahashi either. If everything was leading towards what he had anticipated, Masahashi would be part of a cover up behind the real reasons for Koshiro's death. Everything started to fit in place all too easily. Furthermore, to put an end to the trail, Masahashi would be dead when Rosa got to the second floor. And there the trail would end. So neat and tidy.

Room by room, Rosa swept the second floor. Then he found Masahashi and wretched but managed to save himself from throwing up. He took out his cell and dialled a number. "Yeah, this is Rosa. I'm going to need to get a crime scene set up at the following address," he started. "I've got a murder scene." He closed his cell again.

This was unexpected. Masahashi was dead alright. But he supposed to a cold, lifeless body having supposedly died of cold, heart attack or overdose. Rosa used his cell to take a picture of the unmolested scene. The walls were splashed with blood. Entrails were flung and scattered to every corner of the dirty, dark and dank room. And Masahashi, what was left of his carcass, lay on a rotten mattress. Twisted into the most grotesque form. His face locked with the last feeling he had known. Horror and unknown pain.


	4. Chapter 4

The Itawanabe Initiative  
By Ryan Bodle  
Chapter Three

The school bell rang for the final time that day. Ami packed her notes into her satchel. She promptly felt the arm of Tsukino Usagi lock with her own and there she was at Ami's side, smiling. "Usagi-chan," Ami smiled warmly. Who knows where Ami would have been without the constant warm presence Usagi generated.

"Ami-chan," Usagi merely replied.

They walked from the classroom arm in arm. Just outside, Osaka Naru was waiting for them. Or for Usagi, in particular. Usagi let go of Ami for a second and went to talk to her. Ami watched them talk rather quickly at each other it was amazing that they were able to hear each other talk. Then the mood turned sombre. Naru gave Ami a quick glance that looked sad but was too quick to tell. She looked back at Usagi and nodded. They waved each other goodbye and went in opposite directions.

Usagi took her place at Ami's side. "Naru hoped we could go to the Crown after school today."

"You should have gone with her, I don't need a baby sitter," Ami replied.

"I know," Usagi said back. "But I'm going to anyway. You know what sounds like a great idea?"

"No Usagi, what sounds like a great idea?"

"Milkshakes! Come on, what do you say?"

Ami could only smile beside herself. "Yes, that's sounds wonderful, lets go have milkshakes."

"Great, lets invite all the girls!" Usagi squealed, one hand grabbed Ami's and dragged her at mach speeds through the crowded hallways. Somehow the other had found her cell in her school satchel and was being furiously tapped away at. Amongst all this, the klutz known as Tsukino Usagi, kept perfect balance as she danced and dodged past each obstacle in her way. She didn't have time to fall flat on her face. Milkshakes were at stake here.

And so it was that afternoon, Ami and Usagi met with Makoto and Minako outside school where they proceeded to the Crown where they got a booth to themselves. Soon after Rei joined them and a round of milkshakes. Two chocolates, a strawberry, a vanilla and a peach. And though nobody forced the issue, Ami did declare that she lost a dear, old friend yesterday. Mina and Rei were shocked to hear the news but all four girls rallied around her.

'Thank God for friends,' Ami thought to herself.

And rather than hide her grief, Ami did tell them about Detective Koshiro Hiro and what a kind-hearted and clever old man he was. She told them about how she would exchange information with him and fight crime together. She talked and remembered him and it felt good. Her four best friends in the world listened intently. And together they consoled her. Another round of milkshakes.

For now, Ami had finished with her stories. And so the girls began to talk about encounters with other police officers they had had. Some were good, some were not so good. The general consensus, was that no one had ever seemed to forge a working a relationship with the police, save for Ami and Detective Koshiro.

"I wish we had a better friendship with the police," Usagi pouted. "After everything we do for the city, it'd be nice not to be chased and shot at."

"We do take the law into our own hands though, you have to appreciate their point of view," Rei chipped in.

"So what? We emasculate them and they can't stand us, how is that fair?" Mina snapped.

"I didn't say it was," Rei responded. "I'm just saying. When we're not fighting youmas, we're kind of doing their job and nobody gave us permission or the authority to do it."

"So what? We just stop fighting after all this time?" Makoto added.

"Of course not! I'm just trying to appreciate their position," Rei defended.

"Still," Usagi added. "It'd be easier on us if we had some kind of bond with the police. After all, we're supposed to be defenders of people everywhere, just like they are. It'd be nice if we were working together. Perhaps we should work on recruiting some helpers just like Hiro-san." Usagi immediately shrunk and looked at Ami. "Do you think I could call him that now? I think I would have, if I had known him."

"I think Koshiro-san would have liked that," Ami smiled in answer.

"Anyway, Usa-chan, how do you plan to start a cop fan club?" Rei teased. "Maybe we can put a poster up at the station, they can call us anytime."

"Oh hush Rei! I'm talking about being their friends not their idols!" Usagi responded. " We have enough of those." She went back to noisily slurping her Chocolate milkshake.

"Ami, how did you start working with Koshiro?" Mina asked to put an end to the squabbling.

Ami removed the straw to her shake from her mouth and smiled to herself. Laughing again under the circumstances of how she had stumbled across the detective. "It was during that time we were tracking that youma disguised as a Yakuza pusher," she reminisced.

"I don't remember a Yakuza pusher," Makoto said puzzled.

"You wouldn't," Minako answered. "It was just the three of us. Ami, Usagi and I."

* * *

Sailor Moon, Venus and Mercury crouched on the rooftop of a residential home doing the best they could to stay hidden from view whilst they spied on an alleyway opposite. The disappearing sun cast amber over Tokyo.

"We need to get this guy scanned and move on as quickly as possible," Venus whispered. "I have Intel on another three pushers in this district."

"I understand, Venus," Mercury replied with her visor already out. "But we need this one to come out of hiding, first."

Sailor Moon was uncharacteristically quiet. The three senshi were hunting drug dealers that were brazen enough to push into a well to do residential area. Crime was low, as was poverty. One could see the logic, lots of deep pockets to bring into their clientèle. However, in the last few months, there had been some hospital admissions that showed mutation of the cells in patients checking themselves in with fever and influenza. When Mziuno Ami discovered a case whilst visiting her mother at work, she discovered a far more insidious truth. Using Usagi's disguise pen, she was able to get close enough to a victim to scan him. An upper classman. His mutations were on a severely restricted level and luckily, they were dissipating during his time in admission. However, under her computer scans, they hit a match. Their origin was from youma DNA. Someone was creating youmas by corrupting humans. Ami investigated further. The victims all had something in common. They had traces of narcotics in their systems that modern day medical technology could not always detect. Of course, it had taken the closet heroine addict case for Ami to find the link. Unfortunately, the young boy of a well to do family could not hide what was in his blood.

Ami went back along her line of victims. Another on heroine, two had traces of cocaine still around their finger tips and nostrils. The last had nothing in her system, but Mina tailed her for a Saturday night and discovered she was rather partial to taking ecstasy when frequenting night clubs.

And so a common factor was found. Someone was using drugs to test their method of turning people into demons, possibly negaverse soldiers. A majority of the victims lived within 30 miles of each other, so the culprit must have been dealing in the neighbourhood. Venus managed to get information on a dozen known dealers in the area and so the three senshi had been investigating each one. Whenever they made a sale, Mercury would scan the goods for any alien elements. If they turned up negative, they'd move in, stop the trade and hang the dealer up for the police to find with evidence clearly on him or her. Then they'd move onto the next one.

Unfortunately, the police net was getting tighter after finding pushers mysteriously unconscious and with their trade in full view. Finding their real target was getting harder. The police were scaring off the dealers and even the one in particular they needed to find. If they didn't catch him tonight, he could go underground and never be heard from again until it was too late.

"Someone's coming," Venus whispered.

Two senior schoolboys walked into the alley, they cast a casual glance over their shoulders to assure they weren't being watched. They met someone the other side of the dumpster.

"Is it him?" the blonde senshi asked.

"I can't tell," Mercury replied as she began intensive scans.

They watched the third figure as he threw the other two against a wall and began to pat them down. Mercury held Venus as she could feel her friend tense. "I think he's just being cautious."

Sure enough, the the man seemed satisfied and reached into his pocket. All the while, his face remained hidden in the shadows. He pulled out a phone and brought it to his ear.

"Who's he calling?" Venus thought aloud. In an answer, a door another 20 yards in opened and two figures walked out. "Is that the dealer?"

A quick exchange started, one of the kids produced a roll of notes. One of the two new figures slipped something from his pocket and into the offering hand, taking the cash in one swift motion.

"Did you get it? Is it him?"

"Yes," Mercury answered very sure.

"What's in the drugs?" Venus asked.

"Nothing, they're fine."

"Then how do you know?"

"That man!" Mercury pointed. "He's not human, he's a youma!"

"Surround them!" Moon suddenly ordered and jumped from the rooftop. Venus followed and headed to the right to cut off the side access, leaving Mercury to cover the rear. She jumped from her hiding spot and back up over the roof of the house opposite.

She heard Sailor Moon announce her presence as she circled round the five. One quick hop across the side alley, she saw Venus take place and launch a Love-Me chain. Then she heard the clatter of metal to the floor. One of the dealers must have tried to train a gun on Sailor Moon.

She ignored that as she trained her eye on a moving shadow below her to her left, she jumped from the rooftop and landed in front of the two boys running from the scene. One couldn't stop in time and crashed into her, bouncing off harmlessly. She eyed them menacingly.

"Hand it over," she said, forcing herself calm.

"Hand over what?" the one still standing stuttered. Mercury balled her fist and narrowed her eyes at him.

The one on the floor threw a small polythene pouch to the floor. It was filled with a white powder. Mercury didn't bother scanning it, she picked it up and emptied the contents to the floor and freezing the spot it landed. They scurried past her without so much as another sound. Sailor Mercury hurried into the alley. It had been worryingly quiet from the centre so far.

Two figures lay prone on the floor with a single one facing Sailor Moon and Venus. Mercury re-engaged her scanner. In a split second the single man left standing had morphed into an 8 foot tall demon with sickly grey skin. Its left arm had been replaced with a large syringe that contained a bubbling green liquid. Tubes from the top of the syringe ran into is arm. Its very blood was pumping into to the needle. Just above the needle and at the tip of the syringe itself, were several smaller version of the device. The youma levelled his arm at the two senshi.

'No!' Mercury thought to herself and aimed both palms out in front of her.

_SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!_

Ice formed from her and bolted at the youma. His arm froze instantly and he howled in pain, his attack cut short. He looked over his shoulder at Mercury and just grinned. "Rats just keeping scurrying out of the shadows," it chuckled.

"Don't let him hit you with those needles!" Mercury warned.

_VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!_

A golden chain, crackling with pure energy wrapped itself around the youma and again it howled in pain, this time at its restraint. "Ok, lets finish this quickly then," Sailor Venus said holding her chain with both hands. "Sailor Moon!"

"Right," Sailor answered removing her tiara.

_MOON TIARA MAGIC!_

A whirling disc of purity bore down on the demon. It's black eyes with yellow iris' widened at the approaching doom. A bellow of effort, and he pulled his weight backwards. With the narrowest of margins he dodged the tiara. Venus let go of her chain as she was pulled forward and then it dissipated.

"I think my product could take you to some wonderful places, ladies," he cackled as he got up. He dragged the razor sharp nails across his chest, drawing blood until they soaked his fingers. His blood was bright green like the fluid in the weapon on his left arm. "Before it kills you that is."

"He's been using his own blood to infuse the narcotics he sells," Mercury summised.

"Well, now that you know," he grinned evilly. He charged down the fallen Venus, and was on her in less than a second. He thrust his right hand at her.

Sailor Moon got in between them and parried, knocking his wrist up and away. The youma's motion carried him through his thrust but as he went he swung his left arm at Sailor Moon's unprotected mid-section. Venus, recovered in time and made a tackle, pushing the left arm back into the youma's chest before it could touch Sailor Moon. He was pushed far away from the two.

_SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!_

With no time to steady himself, the youma was flung straight into Mercury's Ice pillar and it crashed into his spine. He was pummelled forward and into the ground, where he strained on all fours. Mercury ran, leaped and dove a heel into his back, forcing him to collapse. Then she re-united with the other two.

The three stood united and prepared the final onslaught. Sailor Moon wavered slightly and Mercury looked to her.

"Usa-chan!" She gasped. The slightest of scratches was visible on Moon's cheek. Mercury caught her as she fell and clasped a hand over the scratch.

"Sailor Moon!" Venus cried as she fell to her side. "What happened?"

"She caught a scratch from that youma, his blood is running through her," Mercury answered. "I'm betting its having hallucinogenic effects right now, but they could get worse."

"But its a tiny scratch!" Venus argued.

"His blood is poisonous on a scale I can't explain," Mercury countered. "Just a scratch is enough." She removed her hand and Moon's cheek was tinted blue. "I've frozen her cheek, that should stem the flow of the youma's blood until I can make an antidote. Get her to safety now!"

"But the youma!" Venus argued.

"Look! He used this distraction to escape," Mercury pointed out. Sure enough the demon had disappered. " I need to get a sample of his blood and destroy the rest, but you need to get Usa-chan to safety. Take her to Rei-chan's."

"Rei is away on a school trip," Venus countered.

"So her room will be free," Mercury reasoned. "Time is paramount," she pleaded.

Venus nodded, slung Moon over her shoulder and left. Mercury shifted to where the youma had been laying and took out a vial. After taking a sample of the youma's blood, she stood and held her hands at 45 degree angles from her side with palms out.

"_I can't let another person or animal come into contact with this blood."_

She thought to herself. Then she willed ice to form around her. Soon the ground beneath her began to freeze and a mist began to rise. She continued to concentrate until her ice covered every drop of blood the youma had spilt. Now she forced the temperature in her circle to drop. The ice began to break up the blood as it became solid and then destroy it on a molecular level. She relaxed and let out a breath.

"_Now to catch up with the other two."_

Just as she was about to take off, she heard a man in the main street. He was coughing and spluttering.

"_Is someone injured?" _Sailor Mercury asked herself. She dreaded the thought that the youma had injured someone else in his escape. The senshi of ice darted out into the street without thought and honed on the sense of distress. A sound of retching from across the street, she ran across.

Slumped up against a car was an old man in a brown coat, he held a hand over his chest as he wheezed. A red patch blotted his fading blue shirt.

"Oh no!" Mercury gasped. "What happened? Did it hurt you?"

The old man looked at her and his cheeks went red. "Oh, hello miss," he said faintly. "I'm afraid you caught me at a most embarrassing moment."

"Is it bad?" Mercury responded. "Are you starting to see any colours? How many fingers am I holding up?" She balled her fist then raised two fingers.

The old man laughed through a cough. "Please, its just a scratch." He dismissed.

"But just a scratch from that thing could be lethal."

"Oh, I don't think so," the old man said as he got to his feet. "I'm sure that tree branch has been cause for many accidents, but no deaths yet." He smiled.

"Tree branch?"

"Yes," he explained. "I was attempting to climb that tree when I scraped myself on one of its boughs and fell."

"Oh!" Mercury replied with such relief. "Why were you climbing that tree?"

"Well, you see that cat up there appears to be stuck and he's been missing for days. His owner is terribly worried about him," He answered and nodded at a missing poster attached to a lamp post.

* * *

"Wait! You met this detective trying to rescue a cat from a tree?" Rei interrupted.

Besides herself, Ami smiled at the memory and then nodded. "Yes, the case of the missing cat was our first case we solved together."

"That's a," Makaoto paused. "Really, anti-climatic story."

"He was apart of a task force set up to clamp down on drug dealing in the area. Thanks to our efforts, the number of actual pushers and dealers in the area was becoming clear. That evening, there were a dozen plain clothes officers in the area keeping an eye out," Ami explained. "And I ran into Koshiro-san trying to save a little, old lady's cat whilst on duty. He was so kind like that."

"And after that, you began a working relationship solving crimes?" Usagi added.

"Not at first," Ami answered. "It was the first of several random encounters between us where our work crossed over. Eventually, Koshiro-san had setup a voicemail service where we could communicate. We rarely used it but sometimes, he would have a case that he couldn't explain. More often than not, it would involve youma of some sort. In return, if we ever got involved in an incident, he'd help divert attentions of us from press and other officers. It was a selfish relationship on my part, thinking about it. But he seemed to encourage it more than anyone."

"Sounds like you miss him," Rei said softly.

"I do," Ami answered and sunk her head a little. She then raised it with a bare noticeable smile. "But with all of you here, and remembering how much of a kind man he was makes me feel better. Thank you."

"What are friends for?" Usagi replied. She then wrapped her arms round Ami's neck in a hug nearly choking her.

* * *

Back at Headquarters, Detective Rosa Taiki sat at his old mentor's desk and was typing up his latest report. He stopped and rewinded his dictaphone, playing back his last audio report and his find of Masahashi. Here is where the trail would end. This is the resolution of the murder of a police detective. Rosa seethed inside. He knew this was a trail left for him and a false trail at that. He was confused by its end. Masahashi wasn't supposed to have been slaughtered on his filth ridden mattress in a condemned building populated by the homeless. He was supposed to be found dead from an overdose.

The scene of his bloody death didn't match at all. But it didn't matter. The trail finished there and Rosa had no other leads. Well, at least no other viable leads. He knew there was one option left but he hated the idea Koshiro was leading him that way. To work with the senshi. Rosa tensed, he guessed hours ago, before he even went to track down Masahashi, that Koshiro had left all the clues with Sailor Mercury. She'd have no idea what to do with them, and so it was left to him to contact her, to work with her to find Koshiro's true killer. He leaned back from the keyboard.

What right did that old man have to decide what was better? So Rosa was left with a choice on how he wanted to leave this case. Solved in the public eye or did he want true justice? And there it was, the old man speaking beyond the grave. The law and justice didn't always mean the same thing. And maybe these vigilantes were more than what Rosa judged them to be. Maybe they were apart of justice. Maybe. Again that was the old man giving Rosa a choice, but the young detective saw it another way. It was a false hood. Koshiro wasn't giving him a choice when he knew Rosa's earnest commitment to right and wrong. His own sense of morality was being held hostage by Koshiro's need to teach him something.

"Fine, I'll go along with this for now," Rosa said to no one and pulled out his cellphone. He hit redial and waited for the dial tone. Koshiro's voicemail service answered. "This is Detective Rosa. I need to meet with you, if you get this, be at the following address at 10 tonight." He relayed the spot where Masahashi was murdered.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, Ami had returned home. She had to insist she got home and she would be fine. Some, took more convincing than others. For now she'd be OK. Thank god for friends. Despite being late, she was the first home and she collected the mail from the Mizuno's mailbox. Amongst a small collection of envelopes one of them had a marking from Tokyo University and was addressed to Ami. She left the others in the kitchen and raced upstairs to her room where she opened the letter.

She hadn't applied to any colleges or universities yet. She pulled out the letter and read it quickly.

_Dear Miss,_

_If you are reading this, then I am sorry, I have asked it to be sent in my final will and testament. I hope this foolish old man doesn't cause you too much grief. At the time of writing this, I don't know much of my new and young detective but he is a earnest and headstrong, young man. He only wishes to do the right thing. This is encouraging. I hope you will help him. I leave these to you. Regards,_

_Koshiro Hiro_

Below were four numbers that meant nothing to her. But that didn't matter, her hands scrunched the paper as tears began to re-appear in her eyes. He knew. He knew who she really was. How long for? Why didn't he say something? And did he tell anyone else?

Hopelessly, she confessed to herself that man was a mystery. Who could tell how he had figured her out and if he had worked out who his friends were. More to the point, what were the numbers he had written down?

Instinctively she opened her laptop. When researching, her laptop was always her first object to hand. The laptop fired up in seconds and she connected her modem instinctively. As it connected to the internet, several notifications bleeped up. Unread emails, news feeds and some new podcasts were ready for download. She clicked on her emails first. Only a few since this morning. One stood out immediately.

_**You have one new voicemail waiting**_

Ever since Koshiro had set up the voicemail service they used, Ami had quickly learned the company allowed a service that would text or email you when a new message was waiting. Seeing as she had the PIN, it was easy to get the notification in place. Giving up her cell was way too risky, but her email account was anonymous enough.

She picked up her cell and dialled the number, waited and then entered the PIN. Rosa's message played and she made note of the address and looked it up on her laptop. Rosa wanted to see her soon and she didn't have much time to get across town. She grabbed her henshin wand.

* * *

Sailor Mercury arrived in a part of town she had never walked before. Most of the buildings were decaying beyond the point of repair. One building was cordoned off with yellow tape. Without hesitating, she slipped inside. A couple of bodies littered the rooms on the ground floor. Of course the homeless wouldn't respect a police crime scene when they needed a shelter at night. She continued upstairs.

Several moments of looking around and she came across a bedroom that was taped off and left empty. She turned her visor on and approached the room.

"I figured you'd get here early," Rosa stepped out from the shadows and blocked her way. "Sorry, official police crime scene."

"Detective Rosa," Sailor Mercury greeted sternly.

"Thanks for coming," Rosa replied meekly. "I figure I'd skip the awkward moment and get to it. Whatever Koshiro gave you, I want you to hand it over please."

"I don't have anything," Mercury said and widened her stance.

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that," Rosa replied. He leaned against the door frame the he blocked and lit a cigarette.

"You smoke," Sailor Mercury said. Or asked. It sounded like an obvious statement and a question at once.

"No, I quit," Rosa replied with an amused look on his face. "Haven't had a smoke in three years."

"I see," the Senshi answered but nothing more. She didn't find his sense of humour quite her own. "What is this place?"

"This is where the trail ends. This is where Koshiro's killer slept," Rosa turned and pointed to the small room behind him. Sailor Mercury took two steps forward and peered in.

"All this blood," she gasped. Rosa pulled out a file from his coat

"Masahashi Uryu, former medical practitioner. Has been arrested over a dozen times for possession of class a narcotics, assault and petty theft. The old man must have busted him at least twice himself. We got a hit on that blood sample you found, and we found the suspect here," Rosa recounted. "Dead."

"How did he die?"

"It doesn't matter, the case is concluded. Hope you feel better," Rosa said coldly.

"No, I don't," She said.

"That's what I thought," Rosa continued. "Something stinks about this whole thing. Masahashi wasn't the killer."

"But you said-."

"I know what I said. Masahashi was the killer we were supposed to find. And we were supposed to find him dead, except something isn't right," the detective dropped the but of his smoke and wiped it out under his shoe. "I was supposed to find him whole, dead from overdose and his system full of junk. Instead I find his body ripped open and his entrails all over the walls."

Sailor Mercury faced him wide-eyed from horror.

"It wasn't pretty."

As a reflex, Mercury began scanning the room. Suddenly details stood out at her, rivets in the walls, caved in floor boards making patterns.

"So, I was hoping you'd do two things here. One, do that scanning thing like you did back the old man's place," he gestured with a point. "Like you're doing now."

"And the second?" Mercury asked as she collated data.

"Give me what it was Koshiro left you with."

"I can do that, Detective, but it probably be best that you let me handle your investigation from here," she answered and then faced him. Her visor retracted.

"I'm sorry, what?" Rosa responded with disbelief.

"Because if you continue, you'll find out why Hiro-san chose to work with me so frequently. The killer has left DNA all over this crime scene."

"Forensics have been all over this place, there is no recognisable DNA."

"Exactly. This man's killer wasn't human," Mercury said flatly. "It was a youma."

* * *

Thanks for waiting. So this chapter may have more than your average typo. My proof-reading process has suffered somewhat this time round. I may reload this chapter when I get a chance to really sit down and go through the whole thing.

The last scene is in its third rendition and I'm still not 100% happy with it. Oh, who am I kidding? Never 100% with anything I do ^^ Hope to have another chapter soon. Ciao!


	5. Chapter 5

The Itawanabe Initiative  
By Ryan Bodle  
Chapter Four

"Not human?" Rosa asked amazed. "Do you really expect me to believe that-?"

"The blood marks that don't belong to Dr Masahashi, your crime scene investigators couldn't identify markers in the DNA although some of it is human, or at least resembles it," Sailor Mercury explained.

"Yeah, but how did you know that?"

"I may just be a girl to you, Detective, but I am very capable," she turned to him. "Just like my friends are." Her visor flicked back and she smiled widely. "Besides that, I'm also an academic and studying to be a doctor myself."

Rosa blinked, surprised. "OK, so its an alien?"

"No, it is alien," Mercury corrected. "I've encountered this sort of being before. It is a youma and originates from a very unpleasant place. Sailor Moon and I have fought these demons many times before."

"You mean its one of those monsters from the rumours?" Rosa said. "You actually fight monsters?"

Mercury nodded. "I'm afraid that most of the rumours you may have heard about us are true."

"So, you're actually from the planet Mercury?"

"No, I was born here in Tokyo," Mercury answered with a slight smirk. "Detective Rosa, I know we've butted heads since being introduced but at this point, I recommend you turn this investigation over to the senshi. Going up against this thing will almost certainly get you killed."

"And you'll be fine?" Rosa asked sceptically.

"You may find it hard to believe, Detective, but in this form, I have heightened strength and speed, my senses are far superior and I have faster reflexes that you can imagine. On top of that, I have mastery over the element of ice and I have friends with similar powers, most of whom are stronger combatants," Mercury explained.

"Right, you're the brains," Rosa pointed at her with his hand still holding a cigarette. He returned it to his lips and took a puff from it. Exhale. 'Did you know, old man?' He thought to himself 'Did you know a demon was coming for you?'

"We work this investigation together," he stated. "If we find this killer and it is some monster, you get one shot and one shot only. After that I call in tactical support. Guys with guns, big guns, body armour. The works. Oh and I'm going to need whatever it is that Koshiro gave to you."

Mercury stood silent and taciturn.

"No," Rosa shook his head. "You don't get to negotiate." He explained. "You see what's happening here?" he made a pointing motion between himself and Sailor Mercury.

"This is us working together, this is what the old man wanted from the beginning. For us to trust each other and work together. That's why he gave me the case and you the evidence."

"Are you suggesting Koshiro-san willingly died so that we could-."

"Willingly, no." Rosa interrupted. "But he had me placed so that I would be the primary detective involved with the case and you received something from him, it was triggered in his will so in the event of his untimely death, you'd receive it."

He stopped and let a small laugh escape. "Sometimes, I hated the way that old bastard knew everything."

"He wanted this?" Mercury asked fishing for the piece of paper she received in the mail today. Rosa reached out but waited for Sailor Mercury to actually pass it to him. She hesitated, but then thrust it into his waiting hand. He looked at it.

"I wasn't expecting this," Rosa said. "This could tie him to everything."

"They're numbers, I don't understand what they mean."

"They're bank accounts, all of them off shore. One's Swiss, another in the Cayman Islands, I think." He began to trail off in thought. "I can make some enquiries about them."

"Why would he have off shore bank account numbers?" Mercury asked.

Rosa looked up at her from the paper. "I could list a hundred reasons off the top of my head. But if Koshiro left them to you, they're either involved with this investigation or he wanted to leave you a lot of money. Knowing the city's pay scale for this job, I'm not betting on the latter."

"So what does it mean?"

"I don't know, but I can see what transactions have been going in and out of some these accounts, maybe one of the benefactors to these accounts would be tied to Koshiro or his murder," Rosa explained. "I should get started on these."

"I am going to speak to the other senshi and update them on what's happened here," Mercury responded.

"Alright," Rosa scribbled into his notebook and tore out a page. "Use this email address to contact me. It'll be anonymous."

Taking the paper, Sailor Mercury left the scene. She didn't call anyone after that, it was too late. This could wait for tomorrow.

Rosa made his way to his office. If he emailed the Finance Investigations Unit now, they might be able to give him some preliminary results midday tomorrow.

* * *

A map, four feet by four was pinned to the wall, coloured tacks littered all over the city. Chiyu Matsui stood in front of the map forcing himself to see something. The tacks indicated Sailor Senshi sightings. Most coloured black. They indicated sightings with little information. Blue tacks, Chiyu could determine that a senshi appeared after twenty minutes of a demon appearance or a crime being reported. There were a less than a dozen in all. Even rarer were the red tacks, where a senshi appearance occurred in less than five minutes after an incident. And then there were yellows tacks, surprisingly bountiful in number. They covered incidents where a senshi appeared almost at the same time an incident occurred. He could only assume the senshi were there for an infinite amount of innocent reasons.

The longer he stared, the more the yellows and reds spoke to him. They started to bunch. He took some string and tied one end around a red marker. He measured out a few inches and then pinned the other end to a point on the map, he used the string to draw a perfect circle, 5km in diameter on the map. He quickly drew another three circles. It was a lot of guess work, but the three circles were hotspots for senshi activity. They more than likely lived, schooled or worked nearby. He couldn't be sure which, but he felt more likely to run into a senshi in those three areas.

The revelation of that brought on a headache. He closed his eyes, trying to force it out through concentration. An image flashed into the fore-front of his mind. The silhouette of a girl with an odango hairstyle, golden hair flailing. Her body was limp and as the background began to populate, he saw her being sucked into a void. His heart pumped vigorously. Then there was another woman, same hair style but, this time silver. Her body emitted the brightest light. Chiyu was breathing so hard and fast he, it was painful. He was washed over with anger. The whole imagery faded, his heart slowed and his chest stopped pounding.

He opened his eyes, gasping for breath and fell to his knees, holding his head.

'What's happening?' He thought. He pondered his recent obsession with Sailor Moon and her senshi but couldn't tell himself why he had to find her. Just that he had to.

* * *

Mizuno Ami woke up before her alarm clock the next morning. She often did by five to ten minutes, her body clock naturally rousing her. Today however, she was up a near hour before her alarm. The autumn sun was barely creeping above the horizon at five-forty A.M. Perhaps Rei would be rising now but she would be preparing for her chores before school, of which there were many. She could count on Makoto being up soon but it made no sense, any senshi meeting would have to happen later in the day. Deviating from her normal routine, she got up and changed from her pyjamas into some shorts and a t-shirt and fire up her laptop.

The first thing she did was check all her news feeds, specifically city news for anything relating to Koshiro. All her academic feeds were secondary for a change. When it wasn't so early, it'd wake her mother, she would start her day. Shower and change and then call a senshi meeting. Until then she'd resort to research. She wasn't sure what the internet could teach her about crime scene investigation but anything would be useful. She opened her browser several times.

* * *

Another late finish, another early start. Thankfully, this one didn't mean Rosa slept at the office. He walked in to the precinct with a cup of coffee to go. He was in a slightly better mood in comparison to the previous morning. Sleeping in a bed made a difference. He didn't expect the Finance guys to have anything yet, but he had plenty of intel to type up for the crime report. Sometimes he loathed the amount of paperwork in policing but he was a junior prosecutor before electing to enrol in the academy. He knew the importance of having everything properly written up. He also held contempt for those officers who didn't submit reports or left them incomplete. It made prosecution so difficult sometimes.

He sat at his desk, now tidy from the heap of notebooks Koshiro had left behind. These were by no means dealt with. Instead they sat in several boxes piled into the corner. At some point he figured he'd have some typists or a junior detective have them put onto the computers so they could be classified and digitally stored. Then the books themselves could be burned.

He worked through until 10.30 without break typing up his investigation from notes and his audio recordings. He left out Sailor Mercury. He avoided writing up finding Masahashi. But soon he would have to. He was considering a break when Captain Kinomoto walked in and closed the door behind him and sat opposite.

"What can I do for you, Captain?" Rosa asked.

"I'd like to hear where you are on Koshiro's murder," Kinomoto asked directly.

"I was just typing up my preliminary findings this morning, you'll have the update this afternoon," Rosa answered.

"I hear you have a suspect already," The captain continued.

"We have a suspect, yes," Rosa answered. "But we still don't have evidence the man in question had anything to do with the death of Hiro-san."

"A doctor-turned-junkie was arrested by Detective Koshiro several times, left fingerprints at the scene and you don't believe he killed Hiro-kun?" The captain asked.

"I didn't say that," Rosa answered. "Because of the old man, Masahashi was found guilty of manslaughter, lost his right to practice medicine and just about everything else. Its probable cause if I ever saw it."

"And yet?"

"And yet there was no evidence that Masahashi touched Hiro that night. Not a single speck of skin, hair, blood, saliva or DNA relating to Mashashi was ever found on Koshiro," Rosa responded. "It screams cover up."

"I'm sure you have plenty ideas who was involved," Kinomoto responded diplomatically.

"I do, yes," Rosa returned and remained silent.

"Care to share those ideas?"

Rosa shook his head. "Not with you."

The captain immediately screwed his face in anger. "Listen Jyou, you work for me."

"I work under you the maintain this cover, I work for Chief Inspector Saito. I'm afraid information pertaining to this investigation is sensitive in nature and I can't share that with you or your department. You have a problem with that, take it up with him," Rosa stonewalled.

Kinomoto regained his composure. A precinct captain nearly a decade younger than average, he played the political game well to earn his current position. His hand nearly balled in frustration, but he let go quickly. "OK, the information isn't important. What is, is the resolution of this case."

'Here it comes,' Rosa thought to himself.

"What will you be including in your report pertaining to the death of Detective Koshiro Hiro?"

"I can't tell you that until I have investigated every lead to its fullest extent," Rosa answered.

"And how long will that take?"

"As long as it takes."

"That's not good enough," Kinomoto Arisawa rose and closed the blinds on the office door overlooking the floor. "You have evidence that someone with motive was at Koshiro's house."

"I also stated there was no evidence he ever touched the old man and faking suicide does not sound like the M.O of a junkie," Rosa argued, careful not to raise his voice.

"What else have your investigations revealed?" The captain asked carefully. Rosa was silent. Kinomoto looked back poker faced.

"I'm waiting to hear from other agencies regarding my enquires," the young detective finally answered.

The captain let silence hang again. Rosa had nothing. He couldn't volunteer the evidence Mercury had handed over without saying where it had come from and he knew where this conversation was going.

"This investigation is well in the public eye and is all over the media," the Captain stated. "If we don't have a quick and decisive resolution to it, public confidence will plummet not to mention the Prime Minister's and his office."

"Confidence?" Rosa questioned.

"If we can't show we can take immediate action, how many people will think they can rely on us? How many people will be emboldened to commit a crime if they think they won't get caught? How many-," Kinomoto paused for breath. "How many more police officers will come under fire when we can't defend or even avenge our own?"

"Avenge?"

"You know what I mean, bring to proper justice. I heard Masahashi was butchered in his own bed."

"Try liquidated," Rosa held back a wretch just thinking about the crime scene.

"I wanted him brought to proper justice," Kinomoto reasoned. "Not...that."

"And if he was innocent?"

Kinomoto didn't answer immediately. "Dammit, Koshiro was my friend longer than your superior! You don't have any other leads, so write up the case. Masahashi is the only suspect we're likely the come up with. We can't leave this as an unresolved case."

Rosa sighed heavily. "I agree."

"So you'll write it up?"

"With Masahashi as the only suspect we have, yes. It'll be on your desk tomorrow after forensics complete their tests from the abandoned building."

Kinomoto stood up and buttoned his blue police blazer. "I appreciate that."

"Just one question," Rosa said as he left. "If I write it up and I follow other leads elsewhere, maybe find other suspects, what then?"

"If you find them before tomorrow, then you can include that in your report," with that Captain Kinomoto left.

And so it was. The truth behind Koshiro's murder would be covered up and Rosa would be the one to do it. The only hope for justice was outside of a world and system the young half-Hispanic had put a lot of faith into. He would have to work with the senshi, just like Koshiro had planned.

He checked his email. Nothing. The voicemail account would have been shut down this morning, meaning he would have to wait for Sailor Mercury to contact him before they could converse or meet again.

* * *

For the last hour Mizuno Ami sat in front of her friends and forced herself to retell the events that occurred over the last two days. The sneaking into her old friend's home and being confronted by his partner. And tracking down the killer from the evidence left behind, only to find the body brutally torn to pieces in his own bed. "And now Detective Rosa wants us to work together to find the killer," she finished.

Silence.

"Some story," Rei finally said.

"Are you going to work with this Rosa?" Minako asked. "It doesn't sound like he trusts you, us."

Ami shrugged minutely. "Koshiro-san wanted it, I'm going to at least try."

"This Masahashi was a dead end and he was framed for murder," Mamoru summed up. "And the traces of youma blood and DNA suggest much more malevolent forces at work. How do we go from here?"

"By determining what we're facing," Ami answered. "The results were pretty condemning, but the DNA wasn't pure. Youma markers were definitely there, but this thing was also human."

"Half-human, half-demon," Mamoru mused.

"If I had to guess, I'd say we're dealing with a sleeper agent," Ami continued. "In all probability, this person may not even know what they are."

"So they could be anyone?" Rei summed up. "How can we track this person down?"

"For now, we have to follow this like police investigation," Ami replied. "This person will almost undoubtedly be tied to the case. Whilst in human form, it may not be possible to detect the youma markers in their blood, but they will transform, we just have to trigger it."

"Put pressure on the bad guys, got it," Makoto nodded to herself.

"Can we meet this detective?" Usagi asked timidly. She had been uncharacteristically quiet until now. Sat next to her, Ami placed a hand on hers, the blonde gripped it slightly and then looked up and smiled as if nothing was wrong. "It'd be nice to talk to him." She said with her usual bright voice.

"Of course Usa-chan, I can email him now, if you'd like?" Ami said.

Usagi nodded. Ami whisked her laptop out from her satchel and turned it on. A minute later, an email to Rosa from a newly created anonymous email account was sent.

"In the meantime, what's our plan of action if this youma strikes again?" Mamoru asked.

"Be ready for anything," Luna answered. "With no more information other than there is a youma threat out there, you will just need to be on your toes."

"During that time, we'll do everything we can to support Ami and this Detective Rosa," Artemis added.

Rosa's computer bleeped several times and a pop up message appeared. 'You have new mail.' The box read.

"Finally," he said as he opened the message.

'Dear Detective,

My friend would like to meet you. Please let me know when.

SM'

"Friend?" Rosa excalimed, shaking his head. He hit reply.

'We should meet. I will be at the east gate of central park in twenty minutes. Come as soon as you can.'

He hit send. As he stood and grabbed his coat on the back of his chair, his computer bleeped twice. Two emails came in at once. One was from Sailor Mercury responding to his invite. The other was from the Financial Investigation Unit, it had an attachment.

'Detective,

We're having quite a hard time coming up with any information on those accounts. The banks refuse to surrender owners without proper paperwork and authentication which could take weeks. We were however able to see the last statement from one account. The file is attached. Hope it helps.

Will update you on the progress we make.

FIU'

He opened the statement. It was short. Incoming payments from one company. They were listed in Tokyo. Getting an address would be no problem. He printed out the statement, locked his workstation and put his coat on.

* * *

Chiyu looked about himself in Central Park. This wasn't his normal route to work, but as his research told him, coming by here would increase his chance of encountering the mysterious Sailor Moon. The crowds were thinning by now. His was the unpopular night shift. By now, the sun was setting and it was getting a little cold.

He began trailing off in thought. Some part of his mind told him to look how pathetic he had become, chasing after the senshi like so many school kids and sociopaths. He was become one of them.

None of that mattered. He just needed to find her, talk to her. For what, he didn't know, just that it was necessary.

* * *

"Isn't it a little dangerous to meet him like this?" Usagi asked as she walked through the park with Ami and Luna.

"We won't meet the detective in our civilian forms, we'll transform when the time is right," Ami explained.

"How will we know-?"

"When you've checked the area out and made sure its clear of other people," Luna chipped in.

"Oh yeah, good plan," Usagi beamed. She began surveying the scene. Varying degrees of children and young adults in uniforms were littered about the park. Most were making their way out. Mothers with their toddlers rushed by with their burdens with a busy look whilst their offspring protested that they weren't staying. The joggers jogged by. "I don't think its safe, we'll be seen by a lot of people."

Despite a lot of people leaving as they walked around, there were still enough staying that they'd be seen in their senshi form.

"Yes," Ami said, a little disappointed. "What if we transformed in that boat house?" She pointed to a small hut where some row boats were tethered to a small jetty at the edge of the lake. Its entrance was in the shade of trees on either side. It looked unattended at the moment. "We could use the cover of the hut and the surrounding trees to meet with Detective Rosa."

"Shouldn't there be someone watching it and the boats?" Usagi asked.

Suddenly two men appeared from inside. One was an older gentlemen in overalls, he shook the hand of the other and left. The second man was Detective Rosa.

"It seems the Detective has thought of everything," Luna commented. "Why don't you two go out the east entrance and find somewhere safe to transform."

An alley visit and few minutes later, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury rushed through assorted trees and brush before stealthily arriving in the boathouse. Rosa was startled by their sudden arrival.

"Detective Rosa, I would like you to meet Sailor Moon," Mercury introduced. Sailor Moon stood with her legs apart, one hand on her hips and brought the other hand above her head giving the V signal. She wore the pose with her trademark, wide smile.

"A pleasure," Rosa said with a dry tone.

Sailor Moon seemed offended by this but Mercury spoke before she could get a complaint out. "I assume you asked to meet again so soon because you have information?"

"I have a lead," Rosa was forthcoming. "I also came to tell you that any further investigation into this case for here on in will have to be strictly off the books, for my part."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, a combination of lack of presentable evidence with the political pressure and public eye on this case, there will be a report tomorrow which will I.D Masahashi as the suspected killer of Koshiro-san."

"I thought you were the lead detective on this case!" Sailor Mercury said outraged.

"I am. I will be writing that report," Rosa answered neutrally.

"You can't do that!"

"Actually, I can. I'm one of the few people in a favourable position to do so, and I will be doing that, but not before I follow up this last lead," Rosa was unnerving flat about the whole affair. He was not angry or sad, or regretful. If anything, he seemed rather unaffected and emotionless about the turn of events.

Mercury, however, had finally let her feelings overwhelm her. The last bastion of her sanity suddenly caved over the traumatic onslaught she had suffered these last few days. Hearing Rosa admit he was going to cover up everything. It was like the ultimate betrayal to her friend and his mentor.

"YOU CALL THIS JUSTICE?" She roared. Her fists were balled so hard, she felt her fingernails begin to tear through the fabric of her gloves.

And then, Sailor Moon placed a hand on her should. Sailor Mercury looked over at her, tears started to sting her eyes again. 'Don't cry again,' Mercury willed herself. 'You've cried enough now.'

Moon instinctively pulled Mercury's head into her shoulder. And even though Mercury didn't sob, she held onto Moon for just a moment. Just the few seconds she needed to reclaim herself.

"I am sorry, but with the extra-ordinary circumstances surrounding his death, I can't tell the public what happened. And the public need to hear something. They need to hear we found his killer so they'll believe the police officers all over the city are doing their jobs and that they can feel safe knowing we're serving, protecting and detecting," Rosa explained. "If there is any true justice to be had. It will be at the knowledge of just us and nobody else. Can you deal with that?"

"I think detective, the question is can you deal with it?" Sailor Moon finally spoke up. "All this time, you've believed in and served a law made by your peers, and that system cannot deliver you justice. So now you have to do things our way and no one will see you what you have achieved. Only the demons you slay." She let go of Mercury and took a step towards him and with a tilt of her head asked very sternly. "So, can you deal with that?"

"Yes," he croaked. He swallowed, getting rid of the dry patch in his throat. "Yes, I can."


	6. Chapter 6

The Itawanabe Initiative  
Chapter Five  
By Ryan Bodle

_A/N: This chapter took longer to write than I anticipated. Not happy with how some of the scenes came out, but subsequent re-writes were even worse. Clearly I'm losing sense of my own plot, my own characters and the borrowed characters alike. Hopefully the next one will be less taxing and have a little more flow. In any case, I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

"What's the address?" Sailor Moon asked. Rosa handed her a slip of paper.

"I suggest we go there tonight, once the sun is down," Rosa said. "It'll be easier to spot security."

"Guards? We're not in the business of hurting people," Moon replied looking at the paper.

"I don't think anyone will be there," Rosa responded. "Honestly, I expect to find nothing but dust."

"Explain," Moon ordered.

"Its a single office in a run down business district," Rosa explained. "It screams shell company, used for hiding behind. I don't expect we'll find anyone linked to who was paying into these bank accounts. In all likelihood, the company will be registered to somebody already dead. Or another nameless holding company."

"Hiro-san knew about these bank accounts, they may even be his. I hope you're not suggesting he had dealings with these people," Mercury spoke from behind her friend. Rosa didn't answer and kept a neutral face.

"Please don't coddle or think us stupid, detective," Moon said quietly. "Do you believe Detective Koshiro was taking money from this company and the people behind it?"

"I'm almost certain he was," Rosa responded coldly. "I'm not just investigating Koshiro's death. I'm investigating him. I'm from Internal Investigations and looking into ties between Koshiro and something called the Itawanabe Initiative."

"Go on," Moon urged.

"The Initiative is a ring of police officers throughout Tokyo responsible for creating a slush fund to be given to retired police officers with little or no pension as well as taking care of the families of officers who died in the course of duty."

"Sounds like noble work," Mercury argued.

"It would be, if they weren't stealing confiscated riches and items for auction to generate these funds. Everyone involved with the Initiative is guilty of embezzlement and defrauding the state."

"Why are you telling us this?" Mercury asked.

"I don't know," Rosa shook his head to himself. "Maybe because you'd see right through any lie I make up at this point. Maybe because I want you to see Koshiro for everything he is. Great cop, caring, old man. Even went beyond the law to take care of his own, but for all his intentions, his actions became truly corrupt."

"This Initiative hardly sound like the devil-," Sailor Moon cut in.

"Our latest intelligence suggests that Yakuza infiltrated the Initiative years ago and began using it as leverage on anyone involved. Detectives, officers, senior staff, even judges," Rosa talked over her. "We had an inside source that identified Koshiro as one of the Initiative's founders and was being pushed on hard by Yakuza to work for them. Obviously, he resisted and they killed him for it." He turned away from the two girls and pulled a cigarette from a pack inside his coat. He turned and leaned on a pillar before lighting it. "So, you want to go through the criminal underworld piece by piece and find your killer?"

"Don't joke with us," Moon spoke back. She was getting more and more infuriated with Rosa. He was rude and he was upsetting Mercury with every word.

"Since working with that old man," Rosa began reminiscing. "He was always trying to teach me something about being a police officer. About protecting people. I always hated how he acted like he knew better." A pause. "Since this case began, I've been thinking about justice a lot. Like, when I was a junior prosecutor, justice was always such a black and white concept.

Then I transferred to the force and got recruited into Internal. And seeing how this force for protecting the public was being twisted. Well, my self-righteous sense of justice went into overkill and I wanted to take them all down. All these people who thought they could abuse their power.

And then I got the Koshiro assignment and my world flipped on its head. Koshiro had the perfect record. Loved by the community. Respected by everyone in the force. And a hero. Awarded for valour and courage by the Prime Minister. When I saw what he was a part of. Made me think there were no heroes anymore. Until I met you girls, of course."

Sailor Moon let her stance soften. Was Rosa unloading his soul on them? Didn't he have anyone else to talk to?

"So here's my question. Where's the justice here?" He continued to smoke. "Koshiro gets taken out by Yakuza but we'll never tie them to his murder. Especially since they used some demon to kill him, and an innocent albeit troubled and homeless former doctor got butchered in the process. And even if we do, nobody but us will know the details. So do we just avenge his death. Does he want that? He wasn't a man of violence. I hate this three dimensional view of the world he gave me. Seeing things in black and white was just so much easier."

"You miss him," Sailor Moon said suddenly realising. Rosa huffed a small chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess I do. Son of a bitch," he cursed at no one in particular. "He was a good man. I hate that he had this shadow hanging over him."

"So what do we do?"

"I don't know, I don't know if I see a resolution here. Except shutting down the Initiative."

"Can we do that alone?" Moon asked.

Rosa shook his head. "It'd take an interdepartmental investigation and effort. We'd have to put so much pressure on the Initiative that the Yakuza see no value in maintaining it and shut it down."

"And there's no way we can do it by ourselves?"

"We'd have to get lucky, find a place that ties Koshiro to a holding company with named and known Yakuza operations base or manager."

"Detective?" Moon asked. He looked up at her after he had been trailing off in thought. "Don't you think a man as clever as Hiro-san would have thought of that?"

Rosa thought a moment. "Its worth a shot."

"Then lets go investigate this office," Mercury said hopefully.

"I suggest we meet at the address in an hour, the sun should be down by then," Rosa instructed. "Do you need directions?"

Mercury shook her head. "I know the way."

* * *

Chiyu took a deep sigh and gave up on the idea he would chance across senshi. Now that he thought about it, happening upon them in such an open area seemed laughable, but not nearly as ridiculous as the sense of disappointment he felt right now.

He'd lost count how many times his new found interest in the senshi made no sense to him. He had no interest in the urban legends of girls with indescribable powers that protected Tokyo from evils and aliens that were drawn to the city. Even saying it in his head sounded absurd. He dismissed the news, the tv, the papers. All of them transfixed by the guardians. Fools. All of them. And still, seeing them through that video playback from his job. Just seeing them, those uniforms. Something in him awoke, and with that an undying quench to find them, to hunt them down.

Involuntarily, he kicked at the clay path beneath his feet as he walked. A futile act. His own frustrations still existed and they gnawed at him.

His route took him by the boathouse. He picked up his pace to work and dug his hands into his coat pockets. As he came by the entrance he bumped into someone leaving but didn't see who. He whirled round to apologise.

To Sailor Moon.

"Sailor Moon," he whispered as his eyes and jaws dropped. Just like that, she was standing in front of him trying hard to shrink into the shadows of the wooden hut behind her. A man stood behind her and quickly tried to impose himself between Chiyu and the soldier of love and justice.

"Sorry, this is police business," the man said as a glint of badge came from an inside pocket.

Chiyu lunged with his hand outstretched. "Please," he begged. " I just need to ask you something." He insisted. His hand clasped her bare upper arm.

Instantly a chill of power run up his hand and through his arm. He told his hand to let go but it didn't listen.

"Alright! That's enough!" The apparent policeman told him and tried to yank them apart. They were stuck together.

Sailor Moon began to shake and tremble. "What are you-." Her sentence cut off by a sharp intake of breath.

Sailor Mercury stepped in and grabbed Chiyu by the wrist, trying to wrest the two apart. Even with her enhanced strength, they remained fused. It was then she felt the air starting to vibrate around them.

"What's happening?" Rosa asked. Somehow, his gun was in his hand.

Mercury had her visor out and was already scanning. An energy source was starting to create forces around them, making the air whip about them. She heard Sailor Moon let out a strained grunt. The energy was coming from the stranger she had just bumped into, but she was unable to explain how.

Without warning, both Rosa and Mercury were thrown back inside the boathouse leaving Sailor Moon and Chiyu bonded. Rosa collapsed as he fell against the wall. Mercury steadied herself and watched the two of them. Sailor Moon looked in pain, her face drawn tight. Chiyu otherwise looked shocked at what was happening. There was a flash of light and both were thrown from each other. The newcomer looked like a puppet tossed away casually.

Sailor Moon had fallen on her rear, arms outstretched behind. Her breathing was deep and heavy. She looked ready to pass out, instead her senshi uniform wilted away and Tsukino Usagi was left in her place.

* * *

Chiyu's unconscious form was tied to a bed as he was wheeled into the back of an ambulance. A supervising medic turned round. "And you say he just collapsed?" He asked.

Rosa nodded in response. "He was jogging towards the west exit and just hit the floor."

The medic screwed his face in confusion. "Doesn't look like a jogger, if anything, I'd say he's wearing a uniform."

"Late for work, perhaps?" Rosa offered. "I can't tell you where he was going, just that he's here and unconscious."

The medic shrugged. "I guess only he knows. We'll get him back to the hospital and keep an eye on him."

Rosa nodded and left the scene. He walked from the park and across the road, continuing for another block. He stopped at an alleyway where the shadow grew increasingly darker under the setting sun. Sailor Mercury was waiting for him there along with a tall and dark stranger dressed in a tuxedo, of all things, he bent over a girl with blonde hair, his cape masking her. The girl that was Sailor Moon.

"Is he OK?" Mercury asked as he approached.

Rosa shrugged whilst shaking his head. "Hell if I know, we don't even know what happened to him. How about Sailor Moon?"

"She's still having trouble standing," Tuxedo Mask answered not taking his eyes off her. "Detective," he greeted without taking his eyes off her. "She seems weakened but not hurt, I should take somewhere she can rest."

Before the other two could get a word in, he swooped Usagi in arms and jumped the building in a single bound and disappeared. Mercury returned her attention to Rosa. He seemed to take it in his stride, less and less surprised him about the senshi now.

"Are those two?" He asked lingering whilst raising his pinky finger.

Mercury swatted it away playfully but otherwise nodded and smiled.

"Look, I know your friend is hurt or whatever, but these things are time sensitive. Do you want to join me at the address we have here?" Rosa proposed.

"Sailor Moon is in good hands," Mercury answered. "I'll meet you there."

* * *

Rosa turned and felt the rush of air that told him Sailor Mercury had performed a single feat of acrobatics he had just witnessed Tuxedo Mask complete. He went looking for his car.

Tuxedo Mask landed gracefully on the balcony of his apartment with Usagi in his arms. His disguise melted away until he just wore his green jacket, plain, grey pants and neat black shirt. "Figures you'd get here before us," he said without breaking his eyesight from his beloved.

"I have my own tricks," Luna snorted in reply. "How is she?"

"She fell asleep on the way over here," Mamoru answered as he set her down on the couch.

"I wish Usagi kept her bedroom the way you maintain this place," Luna chipped. She took a place on the couch by Usagi's side denying Mamoru the chance to sit by her. Instead he stood over the two.

"She's holding something," he said, noticing both of Usagi's hands clasped over something. A thin, leather cord lay around her midsection. He hadn't noticed it until now. Gently, he removed it from her grasp. A stone pendant hung from the cord. It was around three inches across and diamond shape. On its front, a curious symbol was etched into it. It almost looked like a question mark except the point was a larger circle and sat inside the tail which was drawn longer to snake around. "Do you recognise this symbol?"

Mamoru showed the pendant to Luna. Her brow furrowed. "I do," she answered uncertainly. "At least I think I do. I haven't seen it in a long time."

"What does it represent?" Mamoru asked. "I feel like I've seen it before, but I don't where."

"We should get to that hospital," Luna said suddenly. "Before that young man hurts someone."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you on the way, we need to go," she ordered.

"I can't leave Usagi," Mamoru protested.

"Is she in danger?"

"Well no, she just passed out."

"People will get hurt unless we go now," Luna explained. "So I need you to trust me and get in your car. Bring the crest."

* * *

Rosa rounded the street corner one last time. He had only made three passes and used different routes, but had made sure there were no sentries watching the building. Despite the night sky, he had seen no Yakuza lookouts. He entered a tenement block and walked upstairs one floor. Sailor Mercury was waiting by a window that overlooked the office they had come to investigate. Her visor was out and her computer was scanning outside.

"I don't see anyone watching the building," he commented.

"I've used infrared to scan the area. No heat signatures in the building and I also can't see any lookouts," her visor closed. "It looks safe to go in."

"You realise I don't have a warrant to enter and search the building," Rosa warned.

"Its not like you said it out loud, but I think we all knew arrests would never be the conclusion of this investigation," Mercury answered. She turned and led the way. "Do you have a means of getting inside? I don't really want to give away our presence by breaking in."

"In a manner of speaking," Rosa replied as her turned and walked alongside her. "How are you holding up?"

"With what?" Mercury played dumb.

"With the old man's death," he threw out there. "It sounds like you cared for him."

Sailor Mercury looked down for a brief moment. "I'd rather not talk about it right now," she said, her voice softening.

"I guess you have actual friends for that," Rosa reasoned.

Sailor Mercury stopped just underneath the door frame that was the building exit. She looked at him and cocked an eyebrow.

"What?" Rosa asked. "You consider us friends?"

"You don't?"

"Maybe work partners," he answered. "I thought friends took more time than this. Besides, I've been an ass this entire time. You can't say you actually like me."

Mercury chuckled under her breath. "I've known people harder to get along with," she answered, smiling earnestly. "And I was friends with them from the moment we met."

She turned and carried on walking, not giving Rosa a chance to answer. He took a moment to consider her words. "I'm friends with a senshi," he told himself and followed her across the street.

The office entrance didn't exist at the front of the building. It was on the first floor, but the door was on the outside of the building. A metal, staircase from the neighbouring alleyway led up to it. Both walked calmly up it. Mercury continued to scan the door for alarms or traps, but detected none. Rosa removed a pouch from the inside of his coat and knelt down to the lock. He removed two thin bars from it and applied them to the keyhole. Seconds later, a satisfying turning of metal sounded and the door swung ajar.

Rosa stood up and removed a pen-torch. "Ready for this?" He asked as he stepped into the breach. Both entered silently.

The room inside looked like the room time forgot. Pale moonlight cast through the windows to give them some visibility and Rosa's torch gave them some focused light. A handful of desks, two stacks of boxes and a metal filing cabinet that stood four feet tall from the floor decorated the room. Otherwise, dust blanketed all around the floor and surfaces about them.

"Nobody has been here in a while," Rosa commented as he looked about. "Our footprints are the only thing that's been here in a few weeks at least."

Mercury scanned the floor. "I can see other prints from men's boots but they're several months old." She added. She walked further in the room. "These boxes appear empty, let's check the filing cabinet."

The two walked over to the cabinet. Rosa quickly relieved the lock of its need to protect the insides anymore and slid the top door open. A single file lay there, he retrieved it and opened it up on of the nearby desks. He focused he torch light on the documents within.

"Just as I thought," he said aloud as he leafed through. "This is a shell company to run dirty money through."

"Can we track the money or even the owners of the company?" Mercury asked. "Look at these receipts and transactions," she pointed out.

"I don't know," Rosa answered. "These sums of money probably never existed, just there to make it look like this place has an annual turnover. The names and companies mentioned may not even exist. It's making ones and zeros for the sake of show, all part of the laundering process."

He stopped on one page. "Oh, this might help."

"What is it?"

"This guy right here," he pointed to the paper in from of him. "Taki Shuya, he's a person of interest. Arrested on suspicion of theft, grand theft auto, ABH and GHB."

"He sounds horrible," Mercury commented. "Has he never been arrested?"

"Several times."

"Then how is he not in jail?"

"Lawyers," Rosa sniped. "Got let off his first two charges for insufficient evidence. Taki is one hell of a mean drunk, though. He got convicted for actual-bodily harm and grievous bodily harm for an incident outside a nightclub. He was ordered to pay medical bills and got a 90 day jail term."

"He's Yakuza?"

"Almost definitely, the ABH and GBH should have got him eighteen months, not 90 days, somebody got him some easy time and bought their way out of trouble," Rosa commented. "He's also dumber than I gave him credit for if he signed the lease on this place in his own name. It means he has a tie to defrauding the state and embezzlement."

Rosa closed the file and rolled it up, he placed it in the inside pocket of his coat. "Koshiro gave us one more link to follow but I doubt there's anything else here."

Sailor Mercury nodded at him then snapped her attention to the window facing the street. "There's someone here," she stated. Rosa's hand instinctively reached for his gun. Mercury held out a hand to keep him from doing so. There was the sound of several feet scratching along the pavement. It stopped. Then there was a click followed by small flames licking at fuel. Something that popped lightly as air escaped as the fire burned away the physical base.

A rock came flying through the window, smashing the glass. Followed closely by a green canister that wretched of petroleum. It must have been cracked already because it spilled flammable liquid all around. In quick succession, a vodka bottle followed, this one had a towel in it with flames greedily growing on it. A molotov cocktail, it smashed when it hit the floor. Flames burst right across the front of the office as the gas caught fire. "Get out!" Mercury roared.

She turned to the door they came through. Two more molotovs smashed against the door frame and floor, covering their only exit. In seconds, the entire office was covered in flames and billowing smoke began to fill the air. They were trapped.

* * *

Mamoru exited the hospital main entrance and walked directly along the building line. He was in a foul mood. He really disliked the idea of being torn away from Usagi during a time like this. 'Whatever Luna was afraid of, it better be worth rushing over here and leaving Usa-chan alone,' he thought to himself.

He found Luna waiting for him in the bushes that decorated the front. "He's in observation on the second floor," he told here. "Do you need help getting up there?"

Luna shook her head. "Do you know which room?"

"Third on the left from the stairs on the east side. Which should make it the fourth window, counting the one in the stairwell."

"Then I'll see you in there," Luna answered. "Make sure you have that crest with you."

"Who is this guy?" Mamoru asked.

"Someone from the past," Luna told him. "Someone with interesting and dangerous powers." She took off towards the fire escape.

Mamoru shrugged and headed back for the hospital entrance. He stuck his right hand back in his pocket, clasping the crest.

Moments later he walked into the room where Matusi Chiyu lay peaceful. Luna sat on a window sill outside. Mamoru slid it open to let her in. "Is he a friend?" Mamoru asked.

"Possibly," Luna said as she tentatively approached his bed and hopped up. "I never dealt with him in the old days."

As Luna got closer, the half crescent moon on her head began to glow. "Luna?" Mamoru asked. She rolled her eyes up at her forehead.

"I'm not doing that," she explained with worry creeping into her voice.

Mamoru felt the crest begin to vibrate in his pocket. The bed and the cabinet beside it began to shake. Fearing the worst, Mamoru summoned a rose and readied it. There was a sudden out bust from Chiyu and he was slammed against the wall, losing his projectile. Luna hit the wall next to him and slumped unconscious. Now transformed, Tuxedo Mask stood up right and saw Chiyu was sitting up in his bed with his head slumped forward and eyes closed. A blue aura glowed about him. He raised his head to look level, eyes still closed yet focused on Tuxedo Mask.

Without warning, Tuxedo Mask was thrown against the neighbouring wall where the open window stood. He grimaced as he impacted with great force. He didn't feel anything break. He tried to stand up but something was pinning him down. Like gravity was intensified all about him. Chiyu still sat on the bed, motionless. He carried on staring at the wall where Tuxedo Mask was.

Invisible, a burst of energy emitted from Chiyu impacting everything around him. The door to the ward rattled against its frame. Cracks began to form where the structure was weakest. Tuxedo Mask was pinned to the wall and floor he occupied. He felt the weight of himself being intensified and he was being crushed by an invisible wall. He couldn't move and couldn't breath.


	7. Chapter 7

The Itawanabe Initiative  
Chapter Six  
By Ryan Bodle

* * *

Sailor Mercury did what she did best under these circumstances. She stayed calm and gathered information. Before she could consciously recognise she was doing it, she had scanned the room for information. The heat had risen furiously in a matter of seconds. Damp in the walls and floor began to generate toxic clouds of smoke that fought to stream out into the open air, but there was so much it filled up the room first, getting thicker and thicker.

She could hear Rosa next to her coughing into his coat. He was kneeling, getting under the smoke. It only helped a little. Between the jagged glass and flames licking the frames, the windows weren't a viable exit. Even if they jumped, injury was guaranteed and whoever threw those bottles could still be there waiting for them. The doorway was equally engulfed in flame and likely under guard.

Rosa had withdrawn his gun and tried to get a vantage point to look out the fire escape. What did he think he could do with that? She asked herself internally, looking at his firearm. She went back to scanning the structure, looking for a weak point they could break through. Already, she was aware, her breathing became laboured as the oxygen burned up.

Behind her she heard the sound of Rosa collapsing to the floor. She checked on him, he wasn't passed out yet, but staying on his knees was a struggle. His gun was on the floor. Time was running out and the walls were all lined with either water pipes or electrical wiring, no viable candidate for breaking down. The external walls were too thick. She scanned the floor. All timber, several decades old, some of it showing signs of wear.

She dropped to her knees and thrust her palms onto the decking. "Mercury Aqua Mist!"

Launching her most basic of attacks, she drenched the floor below her in water, allowing it to seep into the timber and permeate its every splinter. The result generated more toxic smoke as the fire was consuming more and more of the room. She choked on the fumes and her vision started to blur. She blinked out the smoke rising up into her face as a spurt of uncontrollable coughs forced their way from her lungs.

'_Don't stop now,'_ she told herself. Before the wood had time to dry, she summoned up any energy she had left. Palms still feeling the wood below here, she released another attack. "Shine Aqua Illusion!"

The force of the attack at point blank rage ripped through the floor and split the barricade in front of her, creating a gap the size of a manhole. "Detective!" She shouted behind her, alerting him to the new exit.

Rosa scrambled from the floor, fatigue showing throughout his body. Mercury let him go first and watched him slip down feet first. Hearing him hit the floor below, she looked down and saw him crawl up against the nearby wall. Satisfied the way was clear, she expertly jumped straight through the cavity and with cat-like grace, landed below.

The immediate danger removed, she joined Rosa in reclaiming her breath. The smoke trailed its way down with them, but in minute quantities. Together they looked towards the exit, knowing there could be someone out there waiting to finish the job if they escaped.

Rosa pulled out a radio, still gasping for air. "This is Detective Rosa, I need fire and rescue as well as a police perimeter setup at," he relayed the address. He received an affirmative response asking for the nature of the incident. "Property fire and arson. Be aware, suspects are still on site and are definitely armed." He put the radio down and revealed his gun in his hand. "Backup is on the way."

"You remembered your gun?" Mercury asked in surprise.

Rosa shrugged. "I always remember my gun."

"Hey! They're downstairs!" One of the assailants alerted the rest. Rosa shot an alarmed look at Sailor Mercury.

"Take cover," he warned. They both scrambled from the floor, Sailor Mercury kicked down a door opposite them and they both dove inside as bullets rained horizontally into the corridor they previously occupied.

"These guys are pro!" Rosa shouted over the fire. "We need to slip the perimeter they've created before back up arrives, or else they'll pin us in another trap."

"The alley with the fire escape we climbed up, we should be able to get out there," Sailor Mercury surmised.

"It'll be covered," Rosa rejected. "We need to make it to one of the neighbouring buildings, we should be able to break their lines from there."

"How do you suggest we do that?"

"The basement to this building has an outside corridor where they take out the trash. The building behind it has one just like it backed right on the end. They're separated by a six foot wall. If we can jump that and get in the door opposite, we should be safe," Rosa explained.

"A sub-level open air carriageway?"

"Its an eight foot trench and we're as good as dead if they spot us."

"Good," Mercury answered dryly. "For a second, I thought this was going to be easy."

* * *

Mamoru felt the life being crushed from his body, but most of all his lungs. He could feel every fibre of those organs scream for oxygen. He looked at the man on the bed, the source of the power and how he looked more a demon. Despite his eyelids being open, Matsui Chiyu looked possessed with his eyes rolled back in his head. One last, desperate act, Mamoru focused his energies into his hand and found the familiar form of rose there. Unable to move his arm, he let the mystical energies of unerring accuracy do the work for him. He flicked his wrist and the rose left his grip like a bullet. He grazed the cheek of his quarry.

Chiyu snapped awake. As he did, the force pinning Mamoru and Luna cut out. The cat slumped to the floor and stirred. Mamoru fell to his hands and knees, coughing and spluttering as he caught his breath.

Mamoru couldn't tell much of what Chiyu was saying after that. It sounded mostly like startled questioning. As soon as the blur lifted from his vision, Mamoru sprung from his spot and leapt at Chiyu. As he did, another rose formed in his right hand, his left outstretched, ready to grab his assailant. His eyes leveled on Chiyu's.

Chiyu looked back without fear. He reached out and summoned the stone, necklace trinket to him. It rushed into his palm obediently and then covered his body in a blue haze. He froze Mamoru in place with the sheer will of his mind. The two were held in a deadlock.

"What are you"? Mamoru demanded.

"Where is Queen Serenity?" Chiyu asked with a low, chilling voice. "And where is the Princess?"

Mamoru narrowed his eyes. He was after Usagi. "Don't know who you're talking about," he answered softly.

"Don't lie to me," the blue haze around Chiyu sharpened. Suddenly, Mamoru thought about his home and Uasgi lying there and how she was defenseless and unconscious. An image of somebody else's eyes hovered in his vision and then the whole image cleared. Mamoru was staring back at Chiyu. A small smirk appeared on his face, like he had seen what Mamoru had and he knew. A rage filled Mamoru and he brought up the will to protect his beloved. It gave him strength enough to push through the invisible barrier that held him. His left hand grasped out at Chiyu.

Matsui Chiyu effortlessly slipped to his right side, deflecting the rose-wielding opponent with his wrist and rolled from his bed. In a slick motion, Chiyu rolled his wrist until he could grab Mamoru's forearm. Mamoru's lunge, kept him going forward and Chiyu used this to twist his arm and pin him to the bed he previously occupied.

Before, Chiyu could apply a tight lock, Mamoru rolled to his left and threw back his right elbow, feeling it connect with Chiyu's side. They both rolled off the bed, Mamoru trying to balance and land his rear into Chiyu's solar plexus, but most of all, trying not to land on his twisted arm and cause a dislocated shoulder, or worse. He heard Chiyu grunt from the landing and continued to roll. His arm wrenched free from Chiyu's grip and he got to his knees.

Chiyu was already up, arm against the wall, steadying himself as he breathed hard. Mamoru tensed, preparing to tackle. Chiyu moved first. He kicked off from the wall and over the bed and stood in front of the window. With a smirk, he fell backwards and out. Mamoru ran to the window. When he looked out and down, he saw Chiyu slowly levitate himself to the floor.

The man with the strange powers looked up and waved Mamoru goodbye, before running off into the night.

* * *

Rosa opened the door to the basement level exit with trepidation. Just a crack and slowly increased the margin, bit by bit checking outside as it was revealed to him. Night was now thick in the air but most of the stars couldn't penetrate the city lights. Nobody seemed to be watching this exit. The brief encounter at the front must have drawn them to the main entrance. To be sure, he had to look the other way.

He stuck his head out and made himself vulnerable to anyone lining up the shot the other side. Nothing came. He looked around and drew himself back in the relatively safe confines of in doors. "Looks like they're still watching the front," he informed.

"Good," Mercury pushed past him and out into the open, ever so boldly. She scanned the immediate surroundings. They were in a trench, roughly twelve feet long and six wide. To one side lay concrete steps to ground level, where garbage cans and refuse sacks were stacked up next to it, ready to be taken up on collection day. She walked up to the nearby wall, jumped and grabbed the top and pulled up to peer over and drop back down.

"Its locked and its a fire door, we open it and an alarm will bring them running," Mercury scorned. Rosa turned a cursed. "Well, we can hide in the basement and wait for back up, or we can take them by surprise."

"Surprise? I like surprise," Rosa said reaching for his firearm.

"No killing," Mercury ordered.

"You know what these guys are?" Rosa asked her.

"No killing," she reiterated. "Or you can wait inside."

Rosa returned his weapon to its holster. "Fine, how do you recommend getting the upper hand here?"

"Wait here, when I have their attention, you come in from the other side, I take it you can fight," Mercury instructed. Rosa nodded. With that, she leaped high and climbed to the rooftop. Once there, alone. She stood for a moment and drew a heavy breath. She was getting tired now, and not just physically. She felt herself getting short with Detective Rosa, her patience wearing thin and it wasn't his fault. She closed her eyes and focused herself, exercising her anger. Once ready, she moved along the far side of the building and looked over into the street.

She saw six men keeping a mixture of guns focused on the building. One was about to open the main entrance where she and Rosa were last seen. Acting fast, she jumped behind their circle and picked off one of the rear guards without being seen. A single blow to the base of the neck with her superior strength handled the matter.

Dead in front of her, one of the more dangerous of the group grasped a machine pistol in both hands. He seemed eager to use it. Right next to him, another with a pistol and one last molotov cocktail. She engaged them simultaneously. They both screamed, startled as she body checked the first guy, he dropped his gun. She grabbed the second by the wrist, twisting it so he dropped his bottle and he spun to become a body shield against the rest who had trained their weapons on her. She now trusted Rosa to the next part.

Rosa watched Sailor Mercury disappear over the wall of their failed tomb. He positioned himself on the exiting steps and peered down the alleyway. One of the assassins kept one eye his way but Rosa remained in shadows, and hidden. The detective waited for Mercury to distract him. It wasn't long before the lookout was drawn away from the alley. Rosa broke into a full sprint, not wanting to miss his window of opportunity.

He rounded the corner to find his target inches away and pointing a gun at Mercury who hid behind a captive. With Mercury's human shield, four remained. He acted quickly, kicking out behind the knee of the man in front who yelped and inadvertently fired a round into the air. Rosa wrapped an arm around his and wrestled the gun easily using a wrist lock, then used the butt of the gun to deliver a blow to the temple, knocking him out. The remaining two had circled on him. He dived for one, tackling him to the ground and heard the other fall to the assault from behind as Mercury cleaned up.

Rosa's quarry dug an elbow into his back that made him grunt with pain and lose any air in his lungs. He kept his arms tucked in as they both hit the ground. As they stopped, Rosa brought his arms up inside between them and swung them out in a vertical arc, making sure his opponent didn't have them held together. Quickly deducing which hand held the gun, Rosa rolled onto that arm, stopping the man from raising it and then bringing an elbow down into the guy's chest. In had little impact.

'This guy's tough,' Rosa thought to himself. 'And knows how to fight.' He turned round and twisted the gun from hand. He felt a sharp stinging sensation in his lower back as his opponent went for a punch to the kidneys. Rosa let out a gasp of pain and scrambled away, kicking the gun with him. Not sensing much choice, he grit his teeth through the pain and got to his feet as quickly as he could to face the other guy.

Sure enough, he turned into a hammer of a punch that rocked his jaw. Rosa staggered back, fell to his backside, then threw the weight of his leg over his head. He rolled over and back onto his feet. This time he caught the follow up strike and pushed it to one side. His opponent regained his footing and put up his guard. Rosa looked at him with a steel gaze and studied his movements. Watched another heavy swing come in, Rosa stepped inside the man's guard and pushed one arm out to stop the punch connecting and used his other hand to deliver an open palm strike to the jaw before a counterattack could be made.

Rosa stepped back out as the man fell one step back, arms breaking their tight guard. Before the man could recover, Rosa changed his stance so his legs wider. Then, with a reverse spin, Rosa delivered a powerful and well aimed kick to the head, knocking him down and out.

With the fight over, Rosa looked round to see Mercury observing him. She had easily dealt with her opponent and watched him struggle. "I thought you might be one of those proud and chivalrous types," she said before he could accuse her of standing by.

Rosa coughed a laugh as he started to feel the full pain of his bruises. "I think you might be right," he concluded not caring to dwell on whether she was right or not.

Sirens began to announce the arrival of the Tokyo Police Force. "You better get out of here," Rosa advised. He gestured to the hit men lying uselessly on the floor. "I'll make something up."

Mercury laughed. "You'll be a hero, detective," she said before taking off. Rosa looked about.

"I'll be fired," he concluded. How was he going to explain this to the captain?

* * *

Sailor Mercury left Rosa to handle the office fire. There was still more to follow on her investigation and she felt Rosa would be more of a hindrance at the next step. A police officer had many constraints when it came to investigating known members of organised crime, especially those who had already dodged prosecution. If she was to investigate the man Taka Shuya, she would have to do it herself. But first she needed the Intel.

As she guessed, Rosa had a file on him in his office. It had clearly taken some time to put together. Thankfully the office was empty beside her and the lights were all out around her. She began scanning the pages, all neatly typed up by Rosa. Her computer visor referenced every word as she flicked through them, committing them to memory. Known places of business, where he frequented socially and known associates.

A light in the neighbouring hallway flipped on suddenly. She closed the file and hastily replaced it in the cabinet she had pried it from, making a hastened exit through the window she unlocked to get in.

From the hallway, a rookie officer, felt the chill of wind as if someone left a window open. He peered into Detective Rosa's office and scouted inside. The only window was resolutely closed. Still, he walked over and checked it. The latch was not fixed but the window was closed and forming a good seal. He locked the window, looked out briefly and saw nothing but the city at night and left the room.

Sailor Mercury peered from the rooftop, a few stories above, watching and waiting to see if she was discovered. Satisfied, she turned and left to track down a crime boss of the city.

* * *

Taka Shuya, a 34 year old 'businessman' sat on the backseat of his BMW. Tinted, bulletproof windows and armoured doors kept the noise of the outside city out. He sat casually on the more lounge like seat with white trimming, the interior was furnished with luxurious red carpet and gold plated fixings. It was garish, but the low lighting dulled the ostentatious tones. He idly sipped a glass of cranberry juice as he read today's newspaper.

Already the press had got wind of the tragic suicide of Koshiro Hiro, a popular and heroic detective in the Tokyo Police Force. Shuya knew differently, of course. The old man was killed, and professionally. Shuya had no dealings with the Itawanabe Initiative and so had no idea why the geezer was killed, but doing so was risky. Someone with a record like his was always going to attract the kind of attention the family could do without and now the boss wanted a meeting. As soon as he was called, Shuya knew the hit wasn't agreed by anyone in management. The moment he got the phone call, he had his boys pull every bit of information they could.

Even though the information was scarce, it was easy enough to read between the lines. The family had been pushing hard on the cops with this Initiative. The idea was gold. They wanted a retirement plan and the family wanted police informants. Once some of the money laundering boys got into the old enterprise, the book-keepers started keeping receipts. Receipts were proof and proof turned most men. Those who didn't turn were either made out to be depressed or accident prone, a wonderful euphemism the "wet-work guys" taught Shuya. Koshiro wasn't a clumsy guy, so his suicide was faked. Just in case the investigation hinted foul play, the boys left a phony trail to a dead suspect. A neat little package.

Except it wasn't so neat. Whoever killed Masahashi made a mess. A big mess. Shuya's informants said there was more liquid than solid remains of the shamed and former doctor. It couldn't have been the work of a man, maybe some kind of animal. But what kind of nut job thought an animal attack would be more plausible than an overdose clearly needed his head checked. The OD was clearly easier to stage too. Something wasn't right. It was like somebody within the organisation wanted the Initiative discovered by the authorities.

Then there was Koshiro's old partner. Rosa Jyou, the half-Hispanic detective was found investigating off shore bank accounts. Shuya didn't recognise them as his own, but he was pretty sure someone in the family owned them. Rumour had it he wasn't alone either. Shuya shook that thought from his mind. The very idea the police were working with fabled super-heroines was as ridiculous as it was scary. He returned to the business at hand.

Shuya was good at business. He turned a profit, moved money and smuggled all sorts of goods into the country without being caught. He kept his hoods in line and stayed clean, out of the law's hands. The only stain on his record was the beating he gave that punk just over a year back. Shuya had been drinking, he was fond of his finer spirits and developed a love for scotch. In one of the clubs he run, Shuya was taking a rare night off. He wooed the local girls, he sat in one of the booths and enjoyed the music for hours.

After a while, he noticed a young graduate hassling one of his working girls behind the bar. One of the better girls. She was smart, in the kind of way that wasn't dangerous. Watched people, talked to people, knew who came and went. Shuya made sure she kept working there. The kid wouldn't listen when told to lay off her. Shuya, having a good fill of whiskey, had the kid taken out back and nearly made his face unrecognisable. Since then, Shuya didn't drink outside his own home. He was still on probation, even now. He had no idea that punk's dad was the son of one of the chief city prosecutors.

A buzzer from the driver interrupted his thoughts. Shuya flipped the switch on the window separating the front and back. "Phone call, boss, its pretty important."

"Alright," Shuya took a phone from him. "What is it?" He listened to the caller without breaking the neutral look upon his face. "Get back to the office and do a full sweep and double the lookouts. We'll talk when I get back." He hung up and passed the phone back to the front.

"Trouble, boss?" His driver asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Shuya dismissed. "Pull over out front to drop me off, but don't park there. Stay nearby and keep your phone on! I want to get straight back to the office when this is done."

"Sure thing," the driver complied as he pulled over. Taka Shuya opened his door and stepped out right outside a club with strumming neon lights spelling out Sunrise: Gentleman's Club. Unlike the other nightclubs, crammed from wall to wall with youngsters trying to kill themselves through drinking and unbearable thumping of monosyllabic music, Sunrise was a quiet reserve for those who could afford admission. Shuya liked it, although could barely afford the prices. Luckily his boss allowed him passage for meetings.

The inside was lavishly adorned with real wood joining and soft, red pastels along the walls matching the royal red carpet. Chandelier lighting kept the hall like entrance well illuminated. Security and welcome staff were numerous here but they paid him no attention.

Like he had a dozen times that year already, Shuya walked through the foyer and into the staff elevator. He waited for the doors to close behind him before producing a key from his wallet and unlocking a hidden button on the control panel. He pushed it and the elevator began to climb to the restricted floor, where he was summoned.

The summoner, Usoku Botan, a man in his sixties and yet still a powerful and foreboding figure sat behind his office desk and eyed Shuya coming in. He stood up, his frame that of a wrestler, not and old man and motioned for Shuya to sit. Shuya squared his shoulders and straightened his suit before giving the man a polite bow and taking an available seat. Already gathered were four other mid-level managers just like Shuya.

"We can begin," Botan spoke with a voice like a bellows. "Gentlemen, Detective Koshiro Hiro was assassinated not so long ago and he was a high visibility asset. As you all know, such actions cannot be permitted unless the family agree and I am assured no agreement is made. I hope someone here has an explanation."

Kumoni Ken, a man with a broad stance yet snake like features, stood immediately and bowed low. "I took action Usoku-san," he admitted. "I was ordered with increasing pressure on some other families involved with this," he paused. "Initiative. But the detective stumbled upon our involvement. I had to act quickly before he exposed our people."

"You were not permitted," Botan said firmly.

"I do not seek forgiveness," Ken blurted out quickly. "This detective had much information on our operations and our agents. We would have lost much leverage over the police and the organisation would have been exposed. I acted quickly to protect the family, I hope you understand."

"You reacted to cover your own incompetence," Botan concluded. Kumoni kept his gaze downwards but Shuya could clearly see him scowl. His fists clenched tight but he said nothing. Botan swung his chair to one side and looked out the window beyond the balcony to his office. "What of the police investigation?"

"I saw to it that the detective committed suicide," Kumoni reported, standing straight. "If that wasn't enough, a false trail has been forged and will lead to a prior convict. A homeless doctor with his right to practice stripped of him and a heavy dependency on drugs. The police will find him dead in his squalid bed. They must admit it was suicide or reveal it was revenge, there is no other trail."

Botan leered sideways at Kumoni. "You are certain?"

"What else can they do?" Kumoni asked in reply. "Every other line of inquiry will fail to provide answers."

"Shuya," the old man turned to Shuya. "Where is the police investigation at the moment?"

Shuya swallowed regret. Ever since Kumoni offered an explanation on why he killed the detective, he'd rather have not gotten involved. It would have been preferable to not cross Kumoni. He was unstable.

"There's only one detective on the case of Koshiro's death, his ex-partner. Young, but very smart. He's currently following up financial trails from Koshiro's bank accounts, tracking off shore accounts," Shuya explained. "Thanks to international law, he'll never know who the accounts belong to, but he might be able to tell if those accounts were making payments to other accounts based in banks on home soil. He's tracking those down as we speak. Fortunately, they'll all be tied to shell accounts signed in the name of the dead and will increase the likelihood that others will perceive him as a corrupt officer. To avoid press allegations and a political fiasco, I'm confident this will be concluded as suicide."

Shuya couldn't help notice Kumoni develop a shark's grin. "Does this hero detective seem the kind?" Botan asked.

Shuya shrugged. "Do the job as long as this guy, everyone has their nightmares, it won't be that hard to swallow." Botan nodded.

After considering things for a while, Botan turned and faced them all. "We will wait twenty four hours before taking any action, if any," he ordered. "Interfering anymore runs the risk of exposure to the organisation and this initiative is valuable to the family." He pointed at Kumoni. "You will watch the police, but you will not act. You better hope they believe your little story."

Kumoni bowed.

Botan then dismissed the crowd. Everyone made for the lift, Shuya included. "Taka, a word please." Shuya, whilst his back was facing the old man, closed his eyes and silently cursed. Kumoni smirked from the elevator as the doors closed and the other four disappeared. Shuya faced his boss and waited. Botan moved to a liquor cabinet behind him, pouring himself a drink in crystal glass. "Drink?"

"I've given up for now," Shuya replied as graceful as he could. Botan was all too aware of his previous drink-related incarceration. Botan considered him for a while.

"You look nervous," the older man concluded and glided the glass across his desk, then went about pouring a second glass. Shuya reluctantly accepted and sipped the bronze liquid contents. He was surprised. His favourite scotch. Botan smirked triumphantly. "You have a very good taste."

Shuya looked into the bottom of the glass. "The last time you visited my home," he answered his own question. Of course he offered his keeper the finest whiskey he had when playing host.

Botan sighed heavily. "I've been doing this job a long time, Shuya. Never have I had a man with your talents."

"Thank you."

"What was it you didn't want to tell that punk Kumoni?" Botan asked.

Shuya sighed, he should have figured the old man knew he wouldn't reveal all to an audience. "Rose Jyou, the man investigating this death. He's been spotted outside old operations offices I setup years ago when we first worked the Itawanabe Initiative. And he's working with a senshi."

"A senshi?" Botan asked surprised. "This is a problem."

"I'm sure everything is cleared out and it leads nowhere, but I'm also certain this Koshiro left behind something. Something that could tie the Initiative to us, there's no way the police could have found those places without help."

"Perhaps he said something before he died," Botan offered. Shuya shook his head in dismissal.

"He would have been arrested, the moment he said anything. I think something in his will was activated as soon as his death was confirmed," Shuya mused. "Koshiro meant to take the initiative down with his dying breath."

"Stubborn old goat," Botan mused. "Always was."

"You knew him?"

Botan smiled as he mused, the years suddenly showed in his face as he reminisced. "Yeah, he was one of the Initiative's founding members. Asked me if I could put him contact with some of our book keepers. He did me some favours in return, some knuckle rapping."

"How could you be friends with a cop?" Shuya was confused. The premise was totally flawed.

"Times have changed, kid," Botan explained. "These days we're organisations and syndicates. We say family, but it doesn't much anymore. Back then, you could call us organised crime because we did what the law would not permit, but it wasn't like it is now. People came to us for discretion. Services and vices, and we brought it in. The import of narcotics has always been an unpleasant business but its been going on since before there was a ruling class. The thing about those days, the family would control their own people. The police wouldn't have to worry about fights in the streets and civilians in the cross fire."

"People like Kumoni, I don't think will ever listen to reason," Shuya warned. "He's ambitious and reckless."

Botan finished his drink, humming an agreement. "Tonight confirms what I've been thinking for a while now. He's not afraid of me anymore. You should watch your back, kid. He sees you as competition."

"So, you already knew," Shuya confirmed. "And you brought us here to give him an audience." Botan didn't answer. "So what about his orders? Was he really told to strong arm the Initiative?"

"I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. There were some more senior members threatening to take us on. Mostly judicial and prosecutor staff. Its possible Kumoni was sent in as the rabid dog he is."

"If you don't mind Botan-san, I have to keep the situation monitored, I still have boys out there gathering information," Shuya excused himself. Botan nodded and allowed him to leave.

As he left the club, Shuya made a call to one of his boys. "I need a full shake down on everything. Tell the boys to sober up and look out for tails. Secure homes, hideouts, everything. And check for devices. Meet me at the warehouse. Make sure its clear."

His car pulled up as he reached the sidewalk.

* * *

Sailor Mercury arrived at a warehouse on the seafront. According to the file Detective Rosa had on Taka Shuya, he owned a packing factory adjacent and this warehouse was his storage facility business. The whole thing was registered in Shuya's name, and she had no doubt there wouldn't be a single shred of evidence that tied Shuya to any of his other businesses or activities. Maybe, though, just maybe, he kept books on his other businesses there. It seemed a good front for smuggling. The air was blanketed with the smell of seafood from the produce being packed in the factory and the several nearby fisheries. Sniffer dogs would have no chance of detecting anything other than food.

She had her computer on infrared scan, tracking locations of any nearby guards. There were nearly a dozen on the perimeter. More than double she would have thought. Clearly this Taka was paranoid. Or aware someone was coming. Either way, she was more assured of his guilt.

It took some time to analyse their patterns and the super-human strength and agility only her Senshi form could provide her, but she managed to slip past the guard and reach the office level of the warehouse from the roof. As soon as she was in, she found the head office and slipped inside. It was unlocked. She didn't turn the light on, but instead used her visor to look through the dark. There was a computer on the desk. She thought about looking through the files, but knew they would not contain anything she was looking for. She looked about for hidden compartments where Taka would hide the details of illicit affairs.

After five minutes, she used her visor to scan the walls and floors for hollow points in the structure and found one immediately in the wall. It slid open without any resistance. A large book was inside. It contained names, dates and values of money, along with a column with a random number assignment. After flicking through some further pages she deduced it was a person smuggling ledger. Possibly for people looking to get into America. It seemed Taka made a considerable profit out of it. This, however, did not tie in with the Initiative or Koshiro in anyway. It didn't help her and her investigation. She put it back as she found it and restored the hidden panel.

'There must be something here,' she thought to herself. For the second time tonight, she was interrupted whilst searching an office. The lights turned on downstairs, and she could see from a window overlooking the floor. Taka Shuya and four others walked through with considerable was talking hurriedly, and loudly. If she bolted from the office, she would be caught. A window opposite on the external wall of the building proved to be her only escape and she took it. Quickly and silently, she climbed out and jumped on top of an air conditioning unit outside. She waited and listened.

"I don't understand what all the raucous is for boss, so a cop got hit, big deal?"

"The problem, is it was Kumoni who made it. He's been working this initiative and trying to turn cops with leverage. He's making a move," Taka responded. "And we're possibly in his sights."

"He always was a careless bastard," one of the four commented. "He thinks he can take on the old man?"

"If he's trying to take power, he'll hit us too," Shuya confirmed. "Make sure all our boys are safe, and then get eyes on Kumoni, I want to know what he's up to."

"You got it, boss."

A third of the group chipped in. "I don't get it, if he's going for Botan, why take you out as well?"

"Because, Shigeru, he knows I'll back the old man if he draws the line. And the other managers won't stand against both of us. Botan's still got a lot of muscle, and we got the network, no one would stand against both of us, especially since the family will back Botan all the way," Shuya explained to his lieutenant. "What's the latest on that cop and his senshi sidekick?"

'Sidekick!?' Mercury thought to herself indignantly.

"Not good boss," the first voice reported. "The office he was checking out, the lease was signed by you personally."

"WHAT!?" Shuya raged.

"You remember that old guy that needed a business history to falsify his tax returns in the U.S? He died whilst submitting his paperwork."

"Oh yeah, we took the raw percentage and gave the family the rest to settle his affairs. He didn't even leave an inheritance behind. Cruel, old bastard," Shuya recalled. "I had to sponsor the lease on the building. How's that been tied to this Koshiro guy."

"It seems Koshiro set up his own shell company based at that address, you're tied into the investigation now."

"Crafty old geezer," Shuya rued. His voice was showing cracks in his temper. "We still have the paperwork for that? We should be able to deflect something as weak as that."

"Yeah, right here," Mercury heard the sound of a folder dropping onto a desk. "That's not the worst of it."

"Well spit it out," Shuya said impatiently.

"Detective Rosa and the senshi, somebody hit them at the office. Its burning to the ground as we speak." There was a deadly silence for a few seconds followed by a thunderous bang as Shuya banged his closed fist on the table.

"DAMMIT! WHO'S GUYS TRIED TO KILL A COP AND A SENSHI!? IN A BUILDING WITH MY NAME ON IT!?" He raged, scaring even Sailor Mercury a little. She jumped a bit from fright and the air con unit groaned as she moved. Nobody noticed. Shuya was too loud.

"We don't know for sure boss, but we can guess. And they went in hard."

"Did they get out?" Shuya asked as he caught his breath.

"Police have the area cordoned off, but there's no ambulance on scene, you can pretty much assume there were no fatalities."

Again silence. "Any problems here tonight?"

"No, why?"

"Dammit Dai! If the senshi knows I'm involved, the first thing she'll do is get all the police Intel on me and come here looking for clues, get everyone to search the building inside out," he barked his order. "Make. Sure. This. Place is Clean!" He shouted.

That was her queue to leave. Sailor Mercury pivoted and changed her weight, ready to jump away from her perch. The unit groaned again and then there was the sound of metal suddenly wrenching free. One of the brackets fell away from the wall as one of its screw and bolt pinged free. In quick succession, the bracket came off and the unit swung in place. Mercury lost her footing and began to fall. She turned and tried to grab the corner of the unit but missed and was in free fall.

She turned in time to brace her impact on the ground below. She landed heavily and stumbled headfirst into a wall. She collapsed as her sight went blurry. As she climbed to her knees, she was aware of someone behind her. Before she could turn, she felt a sharp pain at the back of her head and collapsed unconscious.

One of Shuya's guards armed with a shotgun had used the stock to knock her clean out. He called for others to assist as he went about securing the prisoner.

(A/N: Bit of a busy chapter, that one. And to think my original chapter plan had a little more. I decided to end it there and leave those bits for the next chapter. Getting close to a resolution now. Please let me know what you think!)


End file.
